There will be yet more disruption to trains as ‘vital’ engineering set to take place

The ‘essential’ engineering works will take place on Sunday (Image: The Argus)

Passengers are advised to check before they travel as there will be further disruption to trains this week.

Following strike action by members of Aslef, the union representing train drivers, on Wednesday, February 1 and Friday, February 3, there will be further disruption due to engineering works on Sunday, February 5.

The “essential” works, between London and Gatwick, mean there will be no trains on the main line between the two stations.

There will be a long diversion between London and Gatwick, and a limited service between Brighton and the airport.

Journeys will take significantly longer than normal, and operators of Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express, have warned anyone planning to use the train to catch a flight from Gatwick to allow enough time.

There will be no continuous trains on the main line between London and Gatwick, and only two trains per hour between the airport and Brighton.

Services to London from Littlehampton and Eastbourne will terminate at Three Bridges.

People traveling between London and Gatwick are advised to use a special diversion service of two trains an hour between London Victoria and the airport which will run via Horsham. The journey will take approximately 80 minutes.

Passengers traveling between Brighton or the East Sussex coast and London are advised to travel via Three Bridges and either use the replacement bus service between Three Bridges and East Grinstead, to connect with trains to or from London, or the diverted but direct London train via Horsham.

For those needing to travel on the main line between Gatwick and East Croydon, a limited service will run between Gatwick Airport and Brighton, with replacement buses operating between Gatwick Airport and all stations to East Croydon.

Passengers planning to use replacement buses are advised to check before they travel and experience delays due to a national shortage of bus drivers.

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On the following Sunday, February 12, the lines between Three Bridges and Brighton, and between Three Bridges and Lewes will be closed for separate engineering works.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director for Southern and Thameslink, said: “We are sorry for the inconvenience to customers during Network Rail’s essential work to keep this busy route in good condition.

“While we have arranged alternatives for our customers to get where they need to be, several routes are affected and many journeys will take significantly longer than normal, so please check your routes and times on a journey planner, or the Southern or Thameslink -website , well before your trip.”