Passengers at five Sussex stations will have more trains to choose from when Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) introduces its new timetable from Sunday 10 December.
In response to requests from the local communities of Preston Park and Hassocks, their stations will gain six morning peak services into London and six returning evening peak services. These will be provided by Thameslink trains between Brighton and Cambridge making additional stops. The morning trains will leave Brighton five minutes earlier than currently, to maintain London arrival times. For commuters at both stations, the change means a doubling of morning peak services to London Bridge and the Thameslink core, and of the evening peak return services, from two to four per hour.
At Newhaven Harbour, trains between Brighton and Seaford will provide an hourly service all day, stepping up to half-hourly at busier times. This means an almost three-fold increase from 18 to 53 services per day, meeting new demand for this growing area of Newhaven and improving connections with the ferry terminal.
Glynde and Berwick residents wanting to spend evenings in Brighton will be able to stay out an hour and a half longer. The last train from Brighton to Eastbourne on weekdays and Saturdays – the 11:32pm service – will now stop additionally at Glynde and Berwick. Currently the last train serving these stations leaves Brighton at 9.56pm.
One further change is to meet the increasing morning demand for Horsham to London Victoria services via Sutton and Hackbridge. Southern will lengthen the 08.17am from Horsham from five to 8 carriages, in line with the eight- or 10-carriage trains running during the remainder of the morning peak. Several particularly popular Saturday trains on the route have also been lengthened recently, from five to eight or 10 carriages.
Jenny Saunders, GTR’s Customer Services Director, said: “We’re constantly listening to our passengers and local communities, and these improvements are designed to meet demand where they tell us it’s needed most, help communities grow, and attract new customers to rail.”
Thameslink has also announced it is increasing capacity for Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire commuters in the morning and evening peak hours.
From Monday 11 December, Bedford and Leagrave passengers will have a new faster train into London. This will leave Bedford at 7.15am and Leagrave at 7.30am, stopping only at Luton, Harpenden, St Albans – which all therefore gain an additional semi-fast morning peak service – and London St Pancras.
At Bedford and Leagrave, the new service replaces a slower train that currently leaves four minutes earlier and stops at all stations from Leagrave to Elephant & Castle. This stopping service will now run from Luton, as it was little used at Bedford or Leagrave.
In the other direction, the existing 5.36pm from St Pancras will now run faster, arriving in Bedford 10 minutes earlier than currently. This will be achieved by not stopping at Luton Airport Parkway, Harlington and Flitwick – these stations will be served four to five minutes later by a new Gatwick Airport to Bedford service, departing St Pancras at 5.41pm.
Thameslink’s new timetable will also incorporate London’s newest station, Brent Cross West. Passengers using this stop between Cricklewood and Hendon will be served by six trains each way per hour during off-peak hours and weekends – four per hour between St Albans and Sutton, and two per hour between Luton and Rainham (Kent); and by a further two trains per hour at peak times, provided by the Luton-Orpington services.
Image credit: GWR
