The gates to Brighton Station have reportedly been locked to people coming in tonight to deal with a huge influx of passengers at the station as commuters and tourists try to make their way home.
The Brighton mainline has already been severely hit by delays caused by a collapsed sewer opening a sinkhole at Forest Hill, leading to the cancellation of trains from Brighton to London Bridge until tomorrow.
This, combined with large numbers of daytrippers making the most of the hottest day of the year and signal failures at Gatwick, has led to what people at the station are describing as “dangerous overcrowding” and “carnage”.
People are advised to avoid the station if possible. Station staff are giving out water to people sweltering in the high temperatures inside the station.
Meanwhile, there have been reports of people kept on trains for several hours, and passengers fighting and fainting in the heat.
Hove MP Peter Kyle has pledged to make passengers’ anger heard, and said he had arranged a meeting between Pride and Govia to ensure similar problems don’t hit celebrations next month.
I’ve already facilitated a meeting between Pride organisers and the Govia boss. I’m determined Pride will be fine https://t.co/KqqX3Vcs2v
— Peter Kyle MP (@peterkyle) July 19, 2016
To everyone suffering a terrible evening on trains & carnage at Brighton Station, I’m sorry – I will make your anger heard and felt by govt
— Peter Kyle MP (@peterkyle) July 19, 2016
Water being handed out at #Brighton station with crowds jumping the barriers to get on trains ? #southernrail pic.twitter.com/GaKSgDGl8p
— Bouri (@Bouri101) July 19, 2016
This outside the station. Nobody can go in and a fight to get out. pic.twitter.com/Rlsak79s2L
— Dan Ryan (@_DanielRyan) July 19, 2016
@BTP have been called in due to over crowding . Please avoid here if possible. @SouthernRailUK are in #meltdown mode.
— Brighton Station (@brightonstation) July 19, 2016
We are aware of the situation at #BrightonStation are working to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) July 19, 2016
It’s clear that GoviaTL are just going to let their service get worse and worse until lots of people die.
Your service is a disgrace it gets worse by the day you couldn’t care about your customer as long as you get your profit tonight at Brighton not one member of staff was on hand to explain things to the passengers . I spend £2.500 a year to get to work I don’t get home to put my kids to bed do you know how upsetting that is for my kids they think I don’t love them SORT YOUR TRAINS OUT
This is what you get for privatisation. They should lose the contract. Appalling.
I saw no water being handed out when I arrived at the station only to be barked at by security, train staff and police and marched out of the station through the back entrance. No thought to the fact we had all experienced extreme delays in unbearable heat. Appalling, absolutely appalling and negligent!
One would be too many! They have to go and go now! This is now a national disgrace. Any MP who does not support the removal of this franchise does so at their peril. We, the electorate will remember!
Absolutely disgusting. This is been going on to long, some one needs to stand up and be accounted for, the government need to step in and remove the franchise before someone is seriously hurt – staff ae under extreme pressure and passenger are quite rightly getting angry
Can you please ask govia thameslink who will be the senior managers at their meet the manager session on Thursday at Victoria.
If Charles Horton is not attending personally – ask him to explain why not –
So when the manager was there i decided to ask him about this amended timetable that was suppose to ‘improve service’ i stated my facts as i saw them i communte to brighton everyday on trains that are always delayed and cancelled he then pushed his finger in my face and started waving it saying i was wrong when i kindly asked him to stop it as i felt it was disrespectful one of the security goons squared up to me and told me i could say anything and to stop shouting when i wasnt was then taken aside by rail enforcement officers and got a formal warning such a disgrace terminate their contract asap and see how much they want customers then lets see what they do tomorrow
Was your punctuation delayed on a train too? Jesus christ, man.
Absolute disgrace! We are people and deserve to be treated as such. They are an enormous corporate machine who should have the savvy to deal with these sorts of issues! Also I too was there and saw no water being handed out, would like a cup now come to think of it! Booooo!
If you privatise – you lose. Trains are as vital as the NHS to the social fabric of this country and neither should be put in the hands of profiteers. If you vote Conservative – this is what you get! When will people learn!
Torture. No other word for it on a day of such extreme heat. Feel so saddened for everyone who was trapped in all that. What cruelty. Cannot imagine how any elderly or disabled coped in all that, or people with small children in tow….
Well arent you lucky people to have the day off and go and enjoy the weather that we may have for 3 days !!!unlike the rest of us, But then you all decide to leave for home at the same time ! And you wonder why there were problems.i would of looked at time anx thought people who have been working will finish soon lets go.your like ig everywhere,The Whitterens in Chichester is the same all you lucky people ,then you all leave the beach at the busiest time and cause chaos.So who causes the problems really !!!!
Seeing the amount of people coming out of the station in the morning, it was obvious that there were going to be plenty of tourists haading back early evening…
Peter Kyle and Caroline Lucas are being absolutely spineless about this…
“Oh I’m going to have a meeting and tell them how you all feel”
Yeah, well done. Last time you did that, we lost 371 trains.
Actually do something about it! Lobby the Transport Minister! Jesus.
I often suggest to people that they could do well to go to Hove station instead of Brighton. A more peaceful spot, and Its trains go north of Brighton, which means they can avoid the Brighton problems. I do not understand why Peter Kyle does not make this point. After all, he is MP for Hove, not the Brighton to which he so often alludes. Brighton’s MP is Caroline Lucas.
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