No direct trains from Chichester to London '˜indefinitely'

There will be no direct trains from Chichester to any London stations after 6am each day for the foreseeable future, Southern has confirmed.
Apart from the first two trains of the day there will be no direct service from Chichester to London.ks16000757-10 SUS-160613-224748008Apart from the first two trains of the day there will be no direct service from Chichester to London.ks16000757-10 SUS-160613-224748008
Apart from the first two trains of the day there will be no direct service from Chichester to London.ks16000757-10 SUS-160613-224748008

It is part of the amended timetable Southern currently has in place due to ASLEF’s ban on drivers working overtime hours, which has no scheduled end.

Rail users reported their shock at being told by staff at Chichester station there would be no direct trains to London stations ‘indefinitely’.

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A spokesman from GTR, which runs Southern, said: “I confirm that, apart from the first two trains of the day (5.12am and 5.33am) we have had to withdraw direct services from Chichester to London (Victoria) among amendments to our timetable as a result of ASLEF’s driver overtime ban.”

A public demonstration of anger at Brighton Station. Eddie MitchellA public demonstration of anger at Brighton Station. Eddie Mitchell
A public demonstration of anger at Brighton Station. Eddie Mitchell

It means passengers will mostly have to change at Barnham to travel to stations up to London such as Arundel, Pulborough and Horsham, increasing their journey times significantly.

Rail users have now suffered more than a year of disruption over disputes between unions the RMT and ASLEF over changes to the role of the traditional guard, which will see driver-only trains on Southern services.

Since Aslef announced its ban on overtime hours from June, Southern has dropped a number of its services from its timetable with trains also cancelled at short notice.

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