THERE are renewed demands for improvements after a railway station was revealed as one of the worst in the country.

Campaigners say they are not surprised Preston Park in Brighton has come 2,311th our of 2,613 stations.

The news comes as four services from the station were cancelled before 8.30am on Monday – the first day back at school for many children.

Figurers released by ontimetrains.co.uk show Preston Park’s service rating is ranked in the bottom ten per cent of stations nationally.

This is despite it being the 863rd busiest station in the country, serving an average of 1,445 passengers per day.

The slump comes after timetable changes dramatically cut services to the station, a move that prompted uproar from commuters angry at the changes.

Liz Mattos, of the Preston Park Train Campaign, said: “It’s not surprising that the station has fallen so low and reflects what we’ve been campaigning for since the changes were rolled out – that a full service needs to be restored to and from this station.

“It’s unacceptable that we are still facing such disrupted service, especially if you consider that many children will be going back to school this week.”

The campaign group has the backing of Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas and Hove MP Peter Kyle.

Ms Lucas delivered its petition demanding improvements in Parliament to Rail Minister Jo Johnson.

The new timetables caused widespread disruptions with 19 per cent of trains either cancelled or delayed on the first day of its implementation, May 21, dubbed Meltdown Monday.

Now Preston Park commuters face a total of 15 weekends of no or partial service, beginning this weekend, as well as a further nine days over February half term next year as part of Network Rail’s planned improvement works.

These changes, scheduled in the wake of the summer disruption, are supposed to improve reliability on the Brighton main line between Brighton and Three Bridges.

Network Rail project manager Andrew Wood said: “These updates to our assets are absolutely vital and they will result in an improved service to stations like Preston Park.”

He said the project aimed to reduce delays by 15 per cent.

Replacement bus services would run throughout the periods of no service.

“We have put in place massive preparations, there will be replacement bus services on a scale not seen before and we are looking into acquiring luxury coaches with wi-fi enabled.”

“These works will benefit everyone in the long run.”