'Nightmare' as train operator cuts only Billingshurst to London Bridge service

Southern Rail has announced that it is cutting its one direct route from Billingshurst to London Bridge from September 5 as part of a number of timetable changes.

And people who regularly travel on the route for work are now describing it as a ‘nightmare’ and ‘disaster.’

Sian Walters, who travels from Billingshurst to her job in Canary Wharf, has protested to rail chiefs and has written to Horsham MP Jeremy Quin asking for help.

"It’s a disaster for me,” she said. “It’s always a very busy train.”

And Lawrence Tannner – who works for a London insurance firm and moved to Billingshurst from Surrey during lockdown after choosing the village as an ideal commuter area – said: “It’s a bit of a nightmare really," adding: “It’s an unfortunate step back for Billingshurst.”

He said the journey cost him £45 a day but would cost even more if he had to travel to Victoria and travel on from there to London Bridge.

"Ever since I started going to work from Billingshurst, there has only been one train a day that was eight carriages long.

"Three or four months ago, it was reduced to four carriages. It means there were even more people on an even smaller train. It’s always pretty busy.”

In her letter to Jeremy Quin, Sian Walters said: “London Bridge commuters are very angry about this.”

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She said many were appalled at the decision and were concerned that they had not been given a chance to challenge the change.

"To take away the only direct services to London Bridge is downright shameful in my opinion.”

She added that she thought Southern Rail had instigated the change ‘in a very underhand way.’

A spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway said: "As new travel patterns are forming after the Covid pandemic, we need to adapt the whole of our network to meet customers' needs on the busiest routes with the resources available.

"We're making this change because demand is greater on the London Victoria route than the London Bridge route.

"Customers can check exact train times for all September changes in the new timetables available on our website and in journey planners such as National Rail Enquiries."