Brighton Pride passengers stranded as Southern cancels all trains

A total of zero trains will be running to and from Brighton station during Pride in a massive blow to Surrey residents wanting to attend the event. Operator Southern Rail said they made the decision due to “serious safety concerns” caused by industrial action by train drivers union ASLEF.

They announced there will be a ban on overtime between July 31 and August 5 meaning there were not enough services for people to travel safely following the event. Southern[1] usually provide additional late night services following Pride which are covered by volunteer drivers but they claim ASLEF’s action meant this was no longer possible.

All services on the Brighton Main Line on Saturday, August 5 will now terminate at Three Bridges in Crawley and affect a number of stations on this line in Surrey. This includes Horley[2], Earlswood, Redhill[3] and Merstham with people wanting to attend via train now having to make alternative plans.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that due to serious safety concerns, there will be no trains to or from Brighton station on Saturday August 5,” a statement from Southern Rail said.[4] “Anyone planning to attend Pride on Saturday by rail will need to make alternative arrangements, although we appreciate this will be extremely difficult.

“[Southern Rail] has an extremely long-standing relationship with Pride and we are very sorry we cannot support this important event this year. We are bitterly disappointed and know this will be incredibly frustrating for everyone who will be impacted, particularly in the LGBTQ+[6] community.

“We cannot safely run any services as it would be impossible to avoid severe overcrowding and present a considerable risk to passenger safety. In particular, we cannot in good faith bring large numbers of people into Brighton[7] that would not be able to get home again safely.”

Pride celebrations will go ahead as planned

The announcement will not affect the Pride event itself, which is planning to go ahead as normal, while trains on Friday, August 4 and Sunday, August 6 will run as normal. Speaking in response to the announcement Paul Kemp, managing director of Pride, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) who run Southern.

He added: “This will come as a huge shock for not only Pride and the LGBTQ+ community but all the businesses preparing to welcome guests to our city from across the UK and world. Many Pride visitors have already booked and paid for Saturday night accommodation locally, they will now have to change plans or find an alternative way to get into the city. It’s truly devastating news for everyone.

“We would like to be clear that we don’t agree with GTR’s decision, nor the reasons given for completely stopping train services and the potential of adverse knock-on effects. It is very sad to see GTR put a complete service shutdown in place rather than finding a working alternative.

For more travel advice visit the Pride website here[8].

References

  1. ^ Southern (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  2. ^ Horley (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  3. ^ Redhill (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  4. ^ Southern Rail said. (www.southernrailway.com)
  5. ^ Pride in Surrey confirm first details of 2023 Reigate event (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  6. ^ LGBTQ+ (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  7. ^ Brighton (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
  8. ^ here (www.brighton-pride.org)

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