Network Rail have issued the following press release about planned engineering work affecting Southern and Thameslink services over the early May bank holiday weekend:

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), has launched a national poetry competition in partnership with Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho.

Work to improve the passenger experience at London Victoria station is almost complete with new ticket gates set to come into use between spring and summer

Network Rail have issued the following press release about planned engineering work in South London in February, much of which is being re-planned for later in the year:

Initiatives include UK rail’s first cooperative solar energy project that generates power for Southern Rail and income for community development

Train company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has introduced short-stay parking at Kenley station in response to a suggestion by a Croydon Borough councillor.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has introduced a trial of new short-stay parking rates at three Sussex stations. The operator of Southern and Thameslink train services hopes the new flexible charges will prove popular among town-centre visitors.

Network Rail have issued the following press release about planned engineering work on the Brighton Main Line that means there will be no trains between Purley and Gatwick Airport over the weekend of 20 and 21 January.

The UK’s largest rail operator is once again teaming up with Samaritans to flip ‘Blue Monday’ on its head and turn what is commonly believed to be the most difficult day of the year, into something positive.

Next week’s planned Tube strikes will close or partly close eight stations on the Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern network, because some are operated by London Underground.

Rail passengers can now skip standing in line at stations for a ticket to ride by using pre-bought smartphone eTickets right across the vast 11-county Govia Thameslink Railway network.

Customers must check every journey, every day as services will run to different timetables each day

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.

Network Rail has issued the following press release following the completion of the new concourse at Gatwick Airport station

Rail passengers in South London are being advised to plan ahead as Network Rail completes a major signalling upgrade in February 2024.

The UK’s largest rail company, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), has partnered with charity, Missing People, to support its mission to find and help the 170,000 people who are reported missing every year in the UK.

For travel on or after 10 December, journey planners such as www.nationalrail.co.uk have already been updated to include the new train times so customers can plan their journeys.As an overview, most train services are unchanged in the new timetable. However, in certain locations, we are making small changes and improvements to our timetables in response to stakeholder and customer feedback.This will mean that some customers will see extra trains to reflect increased demand, such as in Harpenden and East Grinstead, extra stops to improve connections, such as in Preston Park and Hassocks, or extra carriages to provide more space on trains for customers, such as in the Sutton area.There are though also changes to the Southern service between Redhill and Tonbridge to better align its weekday service to demand. This will see the service run as hourly for most of the day, with some additional services during trains at school and peak times.We have worked hard with local stakeholders and rail user groups on this route to best schedule our services around key times, such as school start and finish times, to minimise any effect the reduction in service could have on customer journeys as far as we can.Across our network as a whole though, our new timetable will see small improvements being delivered thanks to stakeholder feedback and collaboration, leading to improved services for customers.The briefing below explains the changes coming in the Winter timetable in more detail but, as always, should you have any questions or ideas for future improvements, please do get in touch. The December Timetable 2023 comes into effect from Sunday 10 December 2023. The summary below describes the main changes, but as with all timetable changes, we will be encouraging customers to check and plan their journeys using a journey planner such as at www.nationalrail.co.uk.SouthernRedhill to TonbridgeThe current Monday to Friday timetable is formed of an hourly off-peak service and a half-hourly peak and school time service. At weekends, the service is hourly all day.Following a review, the Monday to Friday service will now be hourly at all times, with some additional services targeted at school and peak times, with school traffic being the main source of use on the route.The weekend service will remain hourly, but there will be some changes to early morning and late evening train times.As it is a fresh timetable, we have not listed every individual change, but would encourage customers to check and plan their journeys using a journey planner such as at www.nationalrail.co.ukWest London LineIn response to customer and stakeholder requests, on weekdays, there will be an additional service extended from Watford Junction to Hemel Hempstead and back.The 10:10 East Croydon to Watford Junction is now extended to Hemel Hempstead to arrive 11:28.The 11:52 Watford Junction to East Croydon will start from Hemel Hempstead at 11:38.Horsham / Dorking to London Victoria via HackbridgeOn weekdays the 08:17 Horsham to London Victoria Southern via Hackbridge service will be lengthened from 5 cars to 8 cars owing to high demand on this train. This will bring it into line with the remainder of the morning peak which are 8 or 10 carriage services.Previously, several Saturday trains on the route were lengthened from 5 cars to 8 or 10 cars in stages in September and October to address some high use on individual trains.Brighton to EastbourneThere will be additional stops at Glynde and Berwick on the last train from Brighton to Eastbourne, Monday to Saturday, departing Brighton at 23:32 following customer requests.Brighton to SeafordAdditional weekday station stops will be introduced at Newhaven Harbour to create an hourly service, increased to half-hourly at busier times.ThameslinkBedford to East Grinstead / Three Bridges / Elephant & CastleA set of connected changes are being introduced to provide additional peak time capacity between Bedford and St Pancras International, and an additional off-peak service between East Grinstead and London. A new service, formed of an 07:15 Bedford to Three Bridges service will run. This will provide an additional faster service for journeys towards central London with calls at Leagrave, Luton, Harpenden and St Albans. The existing 07:03 Bedford to Three Bridges service (arriving Three Bridges 08:59) will now run to East Grinstead. This will create an 09:14 East Grinstead to London Bridge service, arriving 10:10. The existing 07:11 Bedford to Elephant & Castle service will now start at Luton at 07:31. Brighton to CambridgeIn response to stakeholder requests, there will be additional stops at Preston Park and Hassocks on the Brighton to Cambridge Thameslink services in the AM and PM peaks.In the morning the current 06:14, 06:44, 07:14, 07:44, 08:14 and 08:44 from Brighton to Cambridge are retimed to leave 5 mins earlier and call at Hassocks and Preston Park.This will mean that they will depart Brighton at 06:09, 06:39, 07:09, 07:39, 08:09 and 08:39.In the evening peak, the 14:53, 15:23, 15:53, 16:23,16:53 and 17:24 departures from Cambridge to Brighton will call at Hassocks and Preston Park. From London Bridge, it will be departures to Brighton at 1615, 1645, 1715, 17:45, 1815, 1845. These services will arrive into Brighton three minutes later than currently (21 and 51 rather than 18 and 48).This will provide both Preston Park and Hassocks four trains per hour to/from London Bridge in the AM and PM peaks, compared to two trains per hour today.Great NorthernThere are no changes planned for Great Northern services in December 2023.

Many of you will have seen the news following Transport Focus and London TravelWatch’s response to the ticket office consultation, published this morning and I wanted to ensure you have the correct information as I know there are some very strong views about the proposals.Over the summer a local public consultation was run with Transport Focus and London TravelWatch on proposals about how tickets are sold on the railway and customer service.Many of you took part in that consultation and we would like to thank you for making your feedback available to us and the passenger bodies to support their work and we know it has been immensely valuable.Today, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch have updated us they are supportive of the principle of redeploying staff from ticket offices to improve the overall offer for customers.However, they have also made clear that they are not able to approve these changes as there is feedback related to the railway as a whole which has not been completely addressed. We always made clear that this was a genuine consultation and as a result, following the process of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, all proposals have been withdrawn and will not be introduced.The consultation did, however, raise interesting ideas on related issues, such as expanding the types of products that can be sold at ticket machines. Where possible, with the wider industry we will look to introduce ideas such as this.

Southern Rail has partnered with Towner Eastbourne to celebrate the prestigious Turner Prize coming to Sussex for the first time.   To help drum up excitement for the exhibition, a meet and great team has been set up at Eastbourne station, welcoming visitors from all over the country who have travelled by train to catch a glimpse of this year’s unique entries.   With Towner situated just 15 minutes away from the station, Southern is helping to transport thousands of art fans in and out of the area.   Phoebe Ociepka-Tearle is one of the volunteers working at Eastbourne station. She helps to direct people arriving by train to the gallery, whilst enticing other members of public to visit the exhibition, which is clearly working as nearly 18,000 people have visited the gallery since the exhibition opened on 28 September. Phoebe, 19, applied as soon as she saw the call-out for volunteers at Eastbourne station.   “Being part of the meet and greet team for a few days a week means I can help raise awareness of the Turner Prize and encourage passengers to see this amazing artwork as part of their trip. I think it’s great the exhibition is so accessible; I’ve met people who have travelled from across Sussex and beyond using the train and they can easily walk to the gallery once they arrive in Eastbourne.”   Culture seekers can catch a glimpse of the four shortlisted exhibitions, created by Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker, at Towner Eastbourne until Sunday 14 April 2024. The winner of the Turner Prize is set to be announced on Tuesday 5 December in Eastbourne’s Winter Garden.   Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Southern, said: “It’s amazing to have such a well-known art exhibition on our network. Although the Turner Prize is often open to visitors in London, having it in Sussex for the first time ever makes it accessible to people living in the south of England. As the only train operator in the area, we’re excited to bring new people to Eastbourne to discover all the area has to offer.”   The Turner Prize is the world’s leading prize for contemporary art and is the centrepiece of ‘Towner 100’ – a year-long celebration of arts and culture across Eastbourne and Sussex marking the centenary of Towner Eastbourne.   Joe Hill, Director, Towner Eastbourne, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Southern Rail, who are providing a safe, easy and environmentally friendly route to Towner which is hosting the Turner Prize 2023 as the centrepiece of Towner 100, the gallery’s centenary year. The Turner Prize exhibitions, alongside the associated programme Eastbourne ALIVE, offers a unique opportunity for our town to promote engagement with contemporary art and showcase all it has to offer to visitors."   Those making the journey to Sussex can make the most of their visit discovering Southern’s Coastal Culture Trail, featuring galleries in Bexhill and Hastings while exploring the landscapes of the South Downs National Park, award-winning vineyards, local shops and more.   To find out more and to book your trip to Eastbourne, visit Train Tickets | Book Train Tickets Online | Buy Train Tickets | Southern Railway.

Thameslink driver Clint Almeida made UK rail history when he took his passenger train through the heart of London using digital in-cab signalling and self-drive ‘automatic train operation’.   It was the 100,000th digitally-signalled journey and 80,000th self-drive trip between St Pancras and London Bridge made by Thameslink in a Siemens-built Desiro City train since the technology was first introduced in 2016.   Thameslink is the only mainline UK rail route to use the digital-signalling system but there are plans to roll it out further (please note, the self-drive element is not part of these roll-out plans as they are only required on this high-frequency section of the Thameslink route – see ed’s notes).   Today, just over a third of all journeys between St Pancras and London Bridge run using the digital ‘European Train Control System’ (ETCS) with extra added every week as more drivers are trained in the state-of-the-art system.   Trains travelling this way can run much closer to one another, making it easier for Thameslink to keep trains running on time and providing a more reliable service for customers as they pass through the busiest part of its massive network.   Experienced Thameslink driver Clint Almeida, 40, a father-of-three from Croydon, was in the cab of the 08:48 service from Bedford to Brighton on Friday 13 October being assessed in using the technology at the end of a five-day course delivered by Mark Webb, one of Thameslink’s in-house team of Testing and Commissioning drivers, who are experts in the system. Switching over to digital signalling on the approach to St Pancras, he then selected self-drive ATO for the journey to London Bridge. He passed with flying colours!   Clint said:“It’s much better, I can see why it’s termed ‘the railway of the future’. Digital ETCS shows me what’s up ahead up to about 2,000m away in central London and that’s safer. I know it’s going to be clear coming into the station and that helps us a lot.   “It takes a lot of getting used to, not looking at signals on the trackside and taking instructions from within the cab, but it’s good.   “Self-drive ATO takes digital ETCS to the next level and pretty much drives the train to its limit with faster acceleration and braking. We all drive differently so this makes it consistent and I’m there to manage the overall safe operation of the train.”   Drivers aren’t advised to stop and go by signals at the side of the track. Instead, they drive according to a target speed set by the system in their cab, using information relayed from beacons along the track that tells it the location of other trains. It allows drivers to ‘see’ what’s ahead up to 2km away and has added safety benefits.   All this is essential given there are trains converging on the route across London from as far afield as Peterborough, Bedford, Cambridge, Brighton, Rainham, Sutton and Sevenoaks – and any delay in the middle of the network will have a knock-on impact elsewhere.   Self-drive automatic train operation takes ETCS digital signalling one step further. Once the driver has transitioned to digital signalling, they can press a button and the system takes over, braking and accelerating automatically at optimum levels before bringing the train to a halt in the next station and opening the doors. The driver then checks the platform is clear, closes the doors and selects ATO again, and manages the overall safe operation of the train.   Grace Roche, ERTMS Thameslink Operations Manager at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “Reaching the 100,000thjourney in ETCS is a significant milestone and demonstrates we are moving towards digital signalling becoming our standard method of operation on this critical part of the network – and that we’re striving to deliver the most reliable service possible for our customers. “As the biggest ETCS operation in the UK, there is a lot we can learn from our experience here. We are working closely with our colleagues at Network Rail to ensure that lessons learned are being applied to the introduction of ETCS on the Northern City Line, as part of the East Coast Digital Programme, where digitally signalled operations are expected to commence later this year. “I’d like to thank everyone involved in getting us to this key milestone.”   Mark Merrydew, GTR’s Testing & Commissioning Driver Manager said: “My team of testing and commissioning drivers have been instrumental in helping our driver colleagues get to grips with ETCS, sharing their knowledge and experience of the system. We’ve come a long way since first introducing ETCS back in 2016 and the 100,000th digitally signalled train is a significant milestone to reach! We’re looking forward to seeing that number increase as we support more drivers to become competent in the system.”   Kevin Clark, Fleet Operations Director at Siemens Mobility, said: “It is fantastic that so many passenger journeys have been improved by this technology on our trains. The ‘core’ section of the Thameslink network is very demanding with the slightest delay having the potential to cause further delays to following trains.   “We have worked with GTR and Network Rail in fitting the ETCS signalling system which provides continuous, real-time information to the driver’s cab and allows all trains to run safely and efficiently with an optimised headway and speed profile, smoothing the flow of trains and resulting in a more reliable service for passengers.”   “We’re proud to have delivered the trains and signalling systems that have transformed rail travel for millions of Londoners.”   Ed Akers, Network Rail’s Principal Programme Sponsor for the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) said: “This milestone shows the experience now accumulated in the use of digital signalling. We continue to build on that knowledge as the Desiro City fleet involved is put through an upgrade to the latest version of the ETCS. That fleet, and others, will in future be making millions of digitally signalled journeys through the ECDP - Britain’s first deployment of ETCS on an intercity mainline.”