July 7 2016.


The half-hourly Seaford train service will practically stop running next week with 81% of trains cancelled with no plan for reinstating them. Passengers have been given less than a week’s notice and there has been no consultation.

A protest at Seaford station is planned from 6.00pm next Tuesday. the 12th of July. Protesters are demanding an hourly service is immediately reinstated and that a timeline for returning all services is announced. Haven residents and travellers are asked to spread the word and take banners, friends and family.

The lack of services will have a huge impact on commuters, young people travelling to college and those unable to drive, especially the elderly and disabled.

Local roads may also see an increase in traffic as people take to their cars. Seaford-Brighton buses are also  expected to be busier.

The impact on the local economy could also be significant as the train provides a gateway for walkers heading for the Seven Sisters, day trippers to Seaford beach and foot passengers arriving from the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry crossing.

Protest organiser Fiona Lewis explains: “Cutting 80% of trains from Seaford and Newhaven almost overnight feels like the final straw. To go from a half hour service to virtually no trains at all for 40,000 people is not acceptable. We don’t care why this has happened or who is responsible anymore. We just need something done for our own sanity and well-being. The government must take action now.”

Southern will be putting some buses in place to take travellers to Lewes, but in rush hour traffic this will see an 18-minute train journey now taking around 40 minutes. There are no guarantees that there will be space for all passengers on the buses, nor that the bus services will arrive in time for onward connections to London. 


Write letters of complaint to:
Patrick Mcloughlin – Secretary of State for Transport - patrick.mcloughlin.mp@parliament.uk

Charles Horton – Chief Executive of Govia (Company that operates Southern) - Charles.horton@gtrailway.com

Maria Caulfield – MP for Lewes Constituency - maria.caulfield.mp@parliament.uk