Snow means Brighton and Hove commuters face second day of train troubles

Commuters face a second difficult day on the railways as Southern operates an emergency timetable.

The move follows a nightmare for thousands of homebound passengers yesterday when they were told that all trains out of Victoria were cancelled.

Snow had meant that some trains services started late and later a signalling problem in the South Croydon area piled on the misery during the evening rush hour.

It meant long delays for people returning to Brighton and Hove from or via East Croydon with police trying to keep the platforms from becoming overcrowded.

A broken down train between East Croydon and Redhill during the day had made matters worse.

And at Victoria at tea time there were angry scenes as passengers complained about the lack of information.

This morning the emergency timetable means that, among many other changes, the 6.17am and the 6.56am from Brighton to Victoria are cancelled.

The 7.16am from Portslade and 7.20am from Hove are also cancelled. And the Brighton to Lewes shuttle will not be running between 9am and 4.30pm.

Today Southern is also starting a new direct debit scheme in Brighton so that passengers can pay for their annual season ticket monthly.

The train operator is offering an incentive – pay for 11 months and get the final month free.

Southern’s development director, Alex Foulds said: “We decided to pilot the scheme in the Brighton area as this means the maximum amount of people will be able to benefit from the start.

“We will see how it goes, and if it is a success, we will roll it out across the whole Southern network.”

Tickets can be bought from Brighton, London Road, Preston Park, Hove, Moulsecoomb, Falmer and Aldrington to London terminals, including London Bridge, and for an all-zones London Travelcard.

Customers can also include PlusBus to the ticket which gives unlimited travel on bus services in the Brighton and Hove area.