Brighton & Hove Pride is calling on those attending Pride to plan their journey in advance and stay for longer over Pride weekend following concerns raised about the serious travel disruption to train services due to the overtime ban by rail workers.
Commenting on Govia Thameslink Railway‘s (GTR) decision not to run any trains into Brighton station on Saturday, August 5, Paul Kemp, managing director of Brighton & Hove Pride, said: “We are deeply disappointed GTR has announced no trains will run to Brighton on the Saturday of Pride weekend cutting off Brighton & Hove from the rest of the UK rail network on such an important weekend for our city.”
Brighton & Hove Pride has been talking with ASLEF and GTR since the overtime ban was announced. The lack of trains on Saturday, August 5 means everyone travelling to and from the city will need to make alternative travel plans or arrange to arrive on Friday. Train services will be running on Friday, August 4 and Sunday, August 6.
Paul added: “This will come as a huge shock for not only Pride and the LGBTQ+ community but all the businesses preparing to welcome guests to our city from across the UK and world. Many Pride visitors have already booked and paid for Saturday night accommodation locally, they will now have to change plans or find an alternative way to get into the city. It’s truly devastating news for everyone.
“Pride always supports the right to protest. Reducing cars on the roads and getting people back on the trains should be a priority to tackle the climate crisis.
“But we would like to be clear that we don’t agree with GTR’s decision, nor the reasons given for completely stopping train services and the potential of adverse knock-on effects. We’ve worked with GTR for many years. We have been impressed with how well they monitor passenger arrival numbers and can be ready to stop trains coming in, if their service is reaching a capacity level, to make sure people can leave safely again later on.
“Safety is always a priority. There are considerable extra resources to safely manage the area outside Brighton station, contributed to by Pride. We also have multi agency representatives working together throughout Pride weekend. This well-established multi agency approach monitors numbers of people coming into the city as part of a much wider ranging safety remit.
“We also note that an overtime ban still allows for a reduced service to operate, which is very different from the strike days. So it is very sad to see GTR put a complete service shutdown in place rather than finding a working alternative.
“We must however highlight the positive working relationships established between Pride and GTR over the last few years. We say thank you to and support all railway staff currently campaigning for better rights. And we sincerely hope this kind of action can be avoided in future for the good of all.”
The statement from Brighton & Hove Pride comes after Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown, launched a petition calling on GTR to think again.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP said: “[GTR’s] decision to cancel all trains to Brighton will leave tens of thousands of people stranded and will be dangerous for those trying to get home.
“GTR can create a shift pattern that works but are instead cancelling all trains, they must urgently act to save Brighton Pride.”
To sign the petition, CLICK HERE
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