Heading to Brighton Pride this weekend? Southern Rail could cause problems due to staff shortages
Londoners heading to the Pride festival in Brighton this weekend could be in for a longer party than they are expecting, with industrial action set to cause delays, cancellations and a lot of waiting for train services.
Southern Rail has warned that "because of continuing train crew shortages, some services may have to be cancelled and there will be a reduced service over the weekend to and from Brighton meaning very busy trains".
The rail firm also said that given the large attendance expected at Pride, there will be a queuing system in place at Brighton station for return journeys, which along with station closures and continuing engineering works at London Bridge means customers should expect long waiting times before they can board a train home.
Southern said the weekend travel disruption is a result of an ongoing industrial dispute – guards are set to go on strike from 12.01am on Monday. RMT said the industrial action was going ahead due to a "point blank refusal by both the company (Southern) and the government to engage with the union."
The RMT union has offered to suspend next week's strikes, but only if certain conditions are met.
Read more: It's high time Southern Rail got its act together
"The industrial action and the dispute with the RMT is continuing to cause misery to people’s lives," said Southern's station group manager Paul Wyborn.
"For our part, we’re sorry that we are unable to provide a full service that meets our passengers’ expectations. We’ll do the best we can with the resources we have available but the trains that do run will be exceptionally busy.
"That’s why we are regrettably advising people to try and find another way of getting in and out of Brighton to beat the crowds and unavoidable queues."
Pride festival organisers have advised people to use the Thameslink or National Express coaches instead of the train.