CALLS have been made for train bosses to do more to prepare for major events after the chaos that followed the Brighton Marathon.

Thousand of visitors suffered delays and disruption when they tried to make their way home following the marathon on Sunday.

A combination of sunny weather and the marathon itself led to Brighton Station becoming packed.

Commenters on Twitter accused rail bosses of being “unprepared” for the event.

Passengers have faced a year of disruption and overcrowding caused by infrastructure problems and strikes due to a dispute between Southern and unions over the introduction of driver only trains.

Sunday’s problems sparked concerns about the impact other major events may have on services.

Hove MP Peter Kyle said: “I was appalled by the situation at Brighton Station following the marathon

“It is disgraceful that rail users in the south east continue to suffer from such an abysmal service.

“In future, it is essential that the station is better equipped to deal with increased capacity, with robust strategies in place to deal with any unplanned issues which arise.

“I will add this to my list of problems to discuss with Southern at my next meeting with them.”

Nammie Matthews, 24, from East Preston, near Littlehampton, said: “It was absolute chaos.

“Most trains to and from London in particular were delayed - it was clear the network could not comfortably accommodate the sheer number of people trying to get home after the marathon.

“It’s not necessarily practical for them to run more trains but they have months to plan for these big events.

“Hopefully they’ll rethink their strategy in time for Pride later this year - or at least for next year’s marathon.”

A spokesman for Southern apologised for the delays.

He said there were a number of incidents affecting the service including several infrastructure failures in London and a broken down train at Preston Park.

He said: “The unfortunate and numerous incidents on Sunday were extraordinary in that they all affected services on the line in one way or another throughout the day. Had they not occurred, we would have been able to cope comfortably with the number of people attending the marathon and those visiting Brighton for the day.

“In conjunction with the organisers, we will be working on plans to cater for the higher than usual demand Brighton Pride presents us with and can assure customers we will do everything we can to ensure everyone has safe and comfortable journeys to and from the event.”