A train operator says passengers will see "significant" improvements in rail services along the Sussex coast.

Packed trains in and out of Brighton are a regular occurrence on weekday mornings and evenings.

In a bid to ease the squeeze, railway operator Southern will introduce a new timetable on December 9.

But while those who travel to and from the city will benefit, passengers who use less popular stations will be hit by reduced services.

Commuters travelling into Brighton from the west between 8am and 9am on weekdays will benefit from two additional trains, providing 130 extra seats.

Off-peak services on the West Coastway will be restructured to include a new hourly Southampton train and faster trains to Portsmouth.

New hourly direct trains will connect Brighton with Southampton with an average journey time of 102 minutes. The hourly service to Portsmouth will also be about ten minutes quicker with a typical journey time of 76 minutes.

Other changes to the timetable mean trains will depart Brighton for the west every ten minutes with improved frequencies to Hove, Portslade, Southwick, Shoreham, Lancing and Worthing.

Trains to Durrington and Goring will be reduced to one direct train per hour, but there will be two other trains per hour with good connections at Hove.

Peak services to Littlehampton will remain direct but a connection at Hove will be required during off-peak times.

The least used stations, Aldrington and Fishersgate, will see a reduced service of two trains per hour to Brighton and Worthing, but Southwick and Portslade both have an improved service.

Chris Burchell, Southern managing director, said: "Overall this is great news for Brighton. Commuters and leisure travellers on the West Coastway will see big improvements in journey time and frequency.

"A lot of time and thought has gone into re-designing our services and rail users in Brighton will clearly benefit. There have been some reductions but these are on services used by smaller numbers of passengers.

"We sympathise with passengers on these routes but have done our best to ensure an improved or equal service for the vast majority. We hope the changes will encourage people who may not previously have used the railway to give our trains a try.

"We advise all passengers to check the new timetable before December 9 as there will be some changes to train times."

Southern says the redesigned timetable will maintain or improve service levels for 84 per cent of passengers.

The new timetable roadshow will be visiting Brighton station tomorrow, between 7am and 6pm, where senior managers will be on hand to talk to passengers about the changes.

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