Southern Rail's planning to start running a full service From Tuesday
18 January 2017, 12:47 | Updated: 19 January 2017, 06:39
Southern Rail's planning to start running a full service again for the first time in months.
They say it's going to take a couple of days to get things back to normal - as rotas have already been worked out for this week.
They are putting plans in place to introduce an extra 200 trains from next Monday to re-instate a direct service for passengers from
Worthing, Eastbourne and Hastings up to London.
The Gatwick Express will also be running every half an hour from Brighton to London Victoria.
Before the full service across the network will be back on Tuesday.
Angie Doll, Southern's Passenger Services Director, said:
“Whilst, inevitably, there will be disruption next Monday, the good news is that due to the changes we've now fully rolled out, we're now able to run more services on more routes serving more passengers and ultimately we'll have fewer cancellations and delays. Next Monday, some 200 extra trains will be running and several routes will have their first service on an RMT strike day. The RMT should now recognise that their industrial action is wholly futile. They should stop the strikes, get back round the table with us and move forward together with us, delivering a better railway for our passengers."
The following routes - previously suspended on an RMT conductor strike day - will now operate on Monday:
Eastbourne – Hastings
Chichester – Portsmouth and Southampton
Lewes – Haywards Heath
Coastway stations (including Bognor, Littlehampton, Eastbourne, Worthing and Hastings) will regain a direct service to London
Routes that previously finished early in the evening will also now run much later.
From Tuesday, Southern plans to operate the normal full timetable.
Gatwick Express will run every 15 minutes between Victoria and Gatwick, extended every half hour to Brighton between 05.00 and 2200. It will then run half hourly between Victoria and Gatwick only until midnight.
There will be no Gatwick Express services between midnight and 05.00. This is to allow Network Rail to continue with additional engineering work to improve route reliability. Thameslink runs an overnight service to and from Gatwick which passengers will be able to use.