TRAIN services for thousands of Sussex commuters will return to normal on Monday as a major station fully reopens.

People using the Brighton mainline and the east and west Sussex coast way routes have been forced to find alternative routes while major work is carried out at London Bridge station.

The station has been partially shut for nine days as part of the £6.5 billion redevelopment project, which connects Brighton and Gatwick Airport with central London and beyond.

These aerial pictures of the Balcombe Viaduct, Brighton station and Gatwick highlight key parts of the route which will benefit from the changes.

More than 50,000 passengers who normally travel into London Bridge in the morning peak hours have had to take different journeys to get to work.

A further 250,000 passenger journeys were affected by the knock-on effects, with other routes becoming busier than normal.

The part-closure ends tomorrow and a full service will be back in force on Monday.

The work was carried out during August as passenger numbers are lower than normal, keeping disruption to a minimum.

When complete in 2018, the massive Thameslink investment programme will give passengers new, more spacious trains and improved connections to more destinations.

Earlier this year the Government announced it was awarding the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise to Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd.

The seven-year franchise is the largest ever given in terms of passenger numbers, and its aim is to improve services to destinations along the Brighton main line and across the county.

Planned benefits include the roll-out of 108 new carriages to replace the current Gatwick Express trains by the end of 2015.

New trains will start to replace the existing Thameslink train fleets from 2016.