GTR Summer Holiday Cancellations

[London Trains]

Southern:

06:05 Littlehampton to London Bridge
06:47 Eastbourne to London Bridge
07:02 Bognor Regis to London Bridge
07:03 Uckfield to London Bridge

17:03 London Bridge to Eastbourne
17:33 London Bridge to Littlehampton
18:03 London Bridge to Bognor Regis

05:47 Horsham to Victoria via Gatwick Airport

06:53 Epsom to Victoria
07:23 Epsom to Victoria

06:55 Victoria to Epsom
17:41 Victoria to Horsham will only run between Victoria and Dorking
17:55 Victoria to Epsom
18:25 Victoria to Epsom

07:33 Norwood Junction to London Bridge
08:33 Norwood Junction to London Bridge
09:03 Norwood Junction to London Bridge

17:10 London Bridge to Sutton via Sydenham
17:40 London Bridge to Sutton via Sydenham

08:40 East Croydon to Victoria
09:41 Sutton to Selhurst
16:02 Selhurst to Victoria

07:56 Victoria to East Croydon
08:46 Victoria to Sutton via Norbury

07:01 Sutton to London Bridge via Norbury will only run between Selhurst and London Bridge
08:01 Sutton to London Bridge via Norbury will only run between Selhurst and London Bridge


Thameslink:

06:33 Bedford to Three Bridges
10:32 Bedford to Three Bridges
11:32 Bedford to Three Bridges
16:02 Bedford to Three Bridges
20:29 Luton to Gatwick Airport

07:40 Haywards Heath to Bedford
08:56 Three Bridges to Bedford
12:56 Three Bridges to Bedford
13:56 Three Bridges to Bedford
18:26 Three Bridges to Luton

07:39 Brighton to Cambridge will only run between Brighton and London Bridge as a Southern service
08:39 Brighton to Cambridge will only run between Brighton and Letchworth
13:14 Brighton to Cambridge
14:14 Brighton to Cambridge
18:44 Brighton to Cambridge

04:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between Cambridge and Kings Cross as a Great Northern service
10:21 Cambridge to Brighton
11:21 Cambridge to Brighton
15:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between London Bridge and Brighton as a Southern service
16:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between Letchworth and Brighton
17:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between Cambridge and Gatwick Airport

08:00 Orpington to Luton will only run between Orpington and West Hampstead

06:21 West Hampstead to Rainham
07:17 Luton to Rainham
08:17 Luton to Rainham
09:17 Luton to Rainham
10:17 Luton to Rainham
11:17 Luton to Rainham
12:17 Luton to Rainham
13:17 Luton to Rainham
14:17 Luton to Rainham
15:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
16:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
17:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
18:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
19:17 Luton to Rainham

05:30 Rainham to Luton will only run between Rainham and West Hampstead
06:30 Rainham to Luton will only run between Rainham and West Hampstead
08:30 Rainham to Luton
09:30 Rainham to Luton
10:30 Rainham to Luton
11:30 Rainham to Luton
12:30 Rainham to Luton
13:30 Rainham to Luton
14:30 Rainham to Luton
15:30 Rainham to Luton
16:30 Rainham to Luton
22:00 Rainham to West Hampstead


Great Northern:

08:45 Letchworth to Kings Cross

16:27 Kings Cross to Letchworth will be extended from Letchworth to Cambridge
16:54 Kings Cross to Cambridge

 

[Mattplans]

What dates do these alterations apply to?

 

[Jan Mayen]

Mid July to end of August, according to this link:

https://www.southernrailway.com/service-updates/timetables

Partial quote:
Over the summer school holiday – between mid-July and the end of August – customers could see a combination of earlier trains running between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria to make it easier for holiday makers to travel by train, more services during the middle of the day for some stations to make it easier for people to go on days out. A small number of services will also be withdrawn on some routes where the number of peak time or off-peak passengers falls over the school holidays.

 

[OneOfThe48]

That’s a lot of trains! How did you find the ones they’re removing?

Can see they’re listed in RealTimeTrains as ‘Q’ but that seems like it would take ages to find the full set of changes!

 

[London Trains]

What dates do these alterations apply to?

Weekdays between the 20th July and 28th August

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 May 2026 ==

That’s a lot of trains! How did you find the ones they’re removing?

Can see they’re listed in RealTimeTrains as ‘Q’ but that seems like it would take ages to find the full set of changes!

I was sent the list from another source, but I've double checked on RTT to make sure the information is correct.

 

[bramling]

Southern:

06:05 Littlehampton to London Bridge
06:47 Eastbourne to London Bridge
07:02 Bognor Regis to London Bridge
07:03 Uckfield to London Bridge

17:03 London Bridge to Eastbourne
17:33 London Bridge to Littlehampton
18:03 London Bridge to Bognor Regis

05:47 Horsham to Victoria via Gatwick Airport

06:53 Epsom to Victoria
07:23 Epsom to Victoria

06:55 Victoria to Epsom
17:41 Victoria to Horsham will only run between Victoria and Dorking
17:55 Victoria to Epsom
18:25 Victoria to Epsom

07:33 Norwood Junction to London Bridge
08:33 Norwood Junction to London Bridge
09:03 Norwood Junction to London Bridge

17:10 London Bridge to Sutton via Sydenham
17:40 London Bridge to Sutton via Sydenham

08:40 East Croydon to Victoria
09:41 Sutton to Selhurst
16:02 Selhurst to Victoria

07:56 Victoria to East Croydon
08:46 Victoria to Sutton via Norbury

07:01 Sutton to London Bridge via Norbury will only run between Selhurst and London Bridge
08:01 Sutton to London Bridge via Norbury will only run between Selhurst and London Bridge


Thameslink:

06:33 Bedford to Three Bridges
10:32 Bedford to Three Bridges
11:32 Bedford to Three Bridges
16:02 Bedford to Three Bridges
20:29 Luton to Gatwick Airport

07:40 Haywards Heath to Bedford
08:56 Three Bridges to Bedford
12:56 Three Bridges to Bedford
13:56 Three Bridges to Bedford
18:26 Three Bridges to Luton

07:39 Brighton to Cambridge will only run between Brighton and London Bridge as a Southern service
08:39 Brighton to Cambridge will only run between Brighton and Letchworth
13:14 Brighton to Cambridge
14:14 Brighton to Cambridge
18:44 Brighton to Cambridge

04:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between Cambridge and Kings Cross as a Great Northern service
10:21 Cambridge to Brighton
11:21 Cambridge to Brighton
15:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between London Bridge and Brighton as a Southern service
16:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between Letchworth and Brighton
17:51 Cambridge to Brighton will only run between Cambridge and Gatwick Airport

08:00 Orpington to Luton will only run between Orpington and West Hampstead

06:21 West Hampstead to Rainham
07:17 Luton to Rainham
08:17 Luton to Rainham
09:17 Luton to Rainham
10:17 Luton to Rainham
11:17 Luton to Rainham
12:17 Luton to Rainham
13:17 Luton to Rainham
14:17 Luton to Rainham
15:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
16:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
17:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
18:17 Luton to Rainham will only run between West Hampstead and Rainham
19:17 Luton to Rainham

05:30 Rainham to Luton will only run between Rainham and West Hampstead
06:30 Rainham to Luton will only run between Rainham and West Hampstead
08:30 Rainham to Luton
09:30 Rainham to Luton
10:30 Rainham to Luton
11:30 Rainham to Luton
12:30 Rainham to Luton
13:30 Rainham to Luton
14:30 Rainham to Luton
15:30 Rainham to Luton
16:30 Rainham to Luton
22:00 Rainham to West Hampstead


Great Northern:

08:45 Letchworth to Kings Cross

16:27 Kings Cross to Letchworth will be extended from Letchworth to Cambridge
16:54 Kings Cross to Cambridge

This is pretty appalling. Presumably it’s the usual issue of insufficient drivers, however the big concern is that if there isn’t pushback over this then it will become normal practice.

 

[Vexed]

Dropping Luton to Rainham to hourly is awful. I don't really get the point in dropping some non-peak Bedford to Three Bridges services either, it seems pretty random to me. I guess it's all about unit and crew diagrams though.

I assume the list in #1 is for weekdays. Hopefully Sunday isn't even worse.

 

[Intercity_225]

08:45 Letchworth to Kings Cross

Wasn't this service just added in the May TT change?

 

[OneOfThe48]

Wasn't this service just added in the May TT change?

No, the only change for Great Northern in May was a stop at Hitchin for an evening train out of Kings Cross

 

[Mattplans]

Dropping Luton to Rainham to hourly is awful.

It is honestly outrageous. Southeastern once again picking up the slack, when they’re also reducing carriages at any given opportunity. It’s becoming a nightmare to commute in this part of London.


This will leave 3 trains per hour at Greenwich, a supposed tourist attraction. And 1tph connection between Abbey Wood and North Kent.

@ScotGG perhaps a topic for your blog?

 

[Intercity_225]

No, the only change for Great Northern in May was a stop at Hitchin for an evening train out of Kings Cross

I swear I remember that service not being in the original December timetable.

 

[Class 466]

Once again the Rainham service sees unnecessary cuts as TL have never really valued it in comparison to when it was a SE service. Thank goodness the Maidstone East service never got off the ground and is instead provided by the local operator

 

[philjo]

Wasn't this service just added in the May TT change?

The 0845 Letchworth to Kings Cross and the 1654 Kings Cross to Cambridge were both added to the timetable in February.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Ive done spot checks in GTRs journey planner for the 9Rxx service group in 9wks time and the trains are showing . So given GTR are saying on their public announcement that journey planners will be uploaded 12 weeks ahead I do hope this is correct as Tlk are already adept at slashing the service at the first time of trouble .

Lets hope this isnt the thin edge of the wedge where operators are being pushed into cutbacks.

 

[Intercity_225]

The 0845 Letchworth to Kings Cross and the 1654 Kings Cross to Cambridge were both added to the timetable in February.

Ah thanks, I knew they hadn't been in the timetable at some point.

 

[bramling]

Dropping Luton to Rainham to hourly is awful. I don't really get the point in dropping some non-peak Bedford to Three Bridges services either, it seems pretty random to me. I guess it's all about unit and crew diagrams though.

I assume the list in #1 is for weekdays. Hopefully Sunday isn't even worse.

I wonder if it is partly an attempt at preventing significant number of on-the-day weekend cancellations. One way or other it’s very poor.

I swear I remember that service not being in the original December timetable.

Sort of. The timetable provided for it, but it was held back for a few weeks as part of the ECML timetable introduction. The diagrams were able to be readily adjusted to bring it in.

 

[marshlinker]

Ive done spot checks in GTRs journey planner for the 9Rxx service group in 9wks time and the trains are showing . So given GTR are saying on their public announcement that journey planners will be uploaded 12 weeks ahead I do hope this is correct as Tlk are already adept at slashing the service at the first time of trouble .

Lets hope this isnt the thin edge of the wedge where operators are being pushed into cutbacks.

Six weeks after nationalisation can't be a coincidence.

 

[JonathanH]

Six weeks after nationalisation can't be a coincidence.

I don't think it is connected at all. The railway companies need to save money to meet DfT budgets constrained by the availability of funding.

 

[OneOfThe48]

Ive done spot checks in GTRs journey planner for the 9Rxx service group in 9wks time and the trains are showing . So given GTR are saying on their public announcement that journey planners will be uploaded 12 weeks ahead I do hope this is correct as Tlk are already adept at slashing the service at the first time of trouble .

Looking at journey planners - some of the changes are appearing correctly and some of them are not

I think that it’s more likely an error (no idea on who’s part)

 

[Class15]

What an embarrassment - Luton-Rainham down to 1tph is pathetic.

I don't think it is connected at all. The railway companies need to save money to meet DfT budgets constrained by the availability of funding.

Which means cutting important services?

 

[30907]

This is pretty appalling. Presumably it’s the usual issue of insufficient drivers, however the big concern is that if there isn’t pushback over this then it will become normal practice.

Southern's cuts of their peak extras seem pretty sensible to me, given the considerable drop in commuting over the summer.
Thameslink cutting off-peak Rainhams I don't like though.

 

[llewjones]

Are the reductions really that great though? - even in the case of Rainham, where on the face of things its a 50% reduction, there are numerous other services both from Rainham and Luton into central London. I can't imagine that the cross-London (Thameslink) element is that great.

Also for Bedford, the reduction is a very small proportion of the total trains (even GTR only) that go into London.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Are the reductions really that great though? - even in the case of Rainham, where on the face of things its a 50% reduction, there are numerous other services both from Rainham and Luton into central London. I can't imagine that the cross-London (Thameslink) element is that great.

Also for Bedford, the reduction is a very small proportion of the total trains (even GTR only) that go into London.

Many of the Thameslinks are in the peak though and are well used services. The deeper issue is this becomes the norm now as DFTO are tasked to lower subsidy. Just listen to Heidi Alexander ist her most used phrase "sustainable subsidy"

 

[800002]

there are numerous other services both from Rainham and Luton into central London.

These services connect many more communities locally than connecting the origin to London.

TL on southeastern for example will reduce Dartford to Medway towns to hourly, for example, as they are the sole operator (from dartford).
They're now introducing the need to change at Gravesend from onto the High Speed.

 

[87015]

Many of the Thameslinks are in the peak though and are well used services. The deeper issue is this becomes the norm now as DFTO are tasked to lower subsidy. Just listen to Heidi Alexander ist her most used phrase "sustainable subsidy"

Its resource driven (like Avanti) - they cannot get enought drivers driving trains to cover the full timetable over the summer. These are to improve performance figures by removing services to increase the chance of running whats left.

 

[800002]

sustainable subsidy

All about perspective, isnt it.
Sustainable to achieve what outcome and at what cost to the wider community.

 

[NorthKent1989]

Just one more reason why Luton-Rainham needs to be restored back to a CHX-Gillingham/Rainham service, utterly disgraceful that the only link between Medway & Gravesend to the Liz Line at Abbey Wood is 1tph, Thameslink has never worked on the line.

 

[MontyP]

Its resource driven (like Avanti) - they cannot get enought drivers driving trains to cover the full timetable over the summer. These are to improve performance figures by removing services to increase the chance of running whats left.

Maybe Tesco/Aldi/Lidl should just close half their stores in the summer because of staffing issues.

 

[rmHawk765]

Once again the Rainham service sees unnecessary cuts as TL have never really valued it in comparison to when it was a SE service.

It needs to cease to exist, it just doesn't make much sense. It's painfully slow on the SE side of things if you live further out and also is basically the first thing to get canned at a single whiff of disruption in terms of TL.

 

[nw1]

Six weeks after nationalisation can't be a coincidence.

We never got timetabled summer holiday cancellations of Southern Region / NSE services for weeks on end during the most recent nationalised era of the 80s or early 90s, even during let's say the 1991 recession. The full service would run through July and August. I suspect it's happening now, not because of who owns the TOCs, but due to the political norms of the 2020s. It probably would have been seen as politically unacceptable in earlier eras while it is seen as acceptable now.

It's all very well saying less people commute in high summer, and that is very likely true, but what if your regular commute is the 0647 from Eastbourne, the 0702 from Bognor or the 0703 from Uckfield and you're not on holiday? You'll be forced to get up earlier, not sure how much earlier but I'd probably guess in the Uckfield case at least, 30 minutes earlier. Back in say 1991, during another recession, in all probability you'd have a well-timed service for your morning commute 12 months of the year.