Sussex passengers urged to check every journey before travelling throughout eight-day period of national industrial action

A limited shuttle service will run between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport on both days. These trains will be extremely busy and will not stop at any other stations. Queueing systems will be in place and passengers may not be able to board their chosen service, especially in the late evenings.

Passengers are strongly urged not to travel to or from Gatwick by train if they have an alternative transport option, and to leave plenty of extra time for their journey if using a train is essential.

As there are no trains across most of the country on these two days, there will be limited onward travel options from London Victoria, so travellers are urged to plan their whole journey ahead of time.

On each morning following strike action – Sunday, October 1 and Thursday, October 5 – services will start up later than usual.

Additionally, an overtime ban by ASLEF will mean amended timetables with fewer trains on Friday, September 29, and on Monday 2, Tuesday 3, Thursday 5 and Friday, October 6.

These timetables have been designed to help passengers plan for their day, providing greater certainty of train times with fewer short-notice alterations. However, passengers should expect busier trains, especially in peak hours, and longer waiting times.

GTR has contacted schools to ensure they are aware and can help ensure nobody is caught out.

Jenny Saunders, GTR’s customer service director, said: “We know how difficult this ongoing national industrial action is for our customers and we're really sorry for the continued inconvenience it’s causing.

“So that you can travel with confidence, we’ll be operating the most resilient timetables we can, but when trains are running, they’re likely to be busier than normal, especially in the peaks, and you might need to wait longer than usual.

“Please plan all your journeys carefully in advance, allowing plenty of extra time, and check again before you set off.”

A spokesperson from Gatwick Airport said: “Due to industrial action, there will an extremely limited train service to and from Gatwick Airport on Saturday 30 September and Wednesday 4 October.

“This service will ONLY be a shuttle directly between Gatwick and London Victoria.

“Limited trains will only run from 05:50 – 23:00

“Key messaging can be found here https://www.gatwickairport.com/to-and-from/rail/rail-disruption/.

“We strongly advise passengers travelling to and from Gatwick Airport to use other transport options on these days where possible and allow extra time to reach the airport. We also advise passengers to book alternative transport in advance, as taxi services at the airport will be extremely busy.

“Passengers should check the National Rail Enquiries website for the latest train times. Further information on alternative means of transport can be found on the Gatwick Airport website.”

Train times are now available for Friday 29 and Saturday, September 30 in online journey planners such as National Rail Enquiries, and will be available five to seven days in advance for subsequent affected dates.

Train times will be available from Thursday, September 28 for journeys on Monday 2, Tuesday 3 and Wednesday, October 4. For journeys on Thursday 5 and Friday, October 6, times will be in journey planners from Saturday, September 30.

Further information is also available on the Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express websites.