TRAIN services along the Sussex coast by Great Western Railway have been axed in a shake-up of their timetable.

From next month, services from Cardiff Central will no longer stop at Brighton, Hove or Portslade, with the rail company claiming the new timetable will adapt to new travelling habits adopted by commuters since the pandemic.

A spokesman for Great Western Railway (GWR) said: “The pandemic has had a major impact on the rail industry and the travel patterns of customers.

“Our new timetable in May gives us the opportunity to support those changes in travel patterns and to reduce costs where other operators already supply a comprehensive service, which is particularly important when we are receiving taxpayer subsidy.

“GWR currently operates only two trains two and from Brighton each weekday, and very few passengers make the full journey.

“Making this change means we can strengthen our busy, hourly Cardiff to Portsmouth services to five carriages, and customers will be able to use these services to make connections through to Brighton, which is already well served by other operators.”

Southern Rail will provide an additional service from Brighton to Portsmouth at 1705 on weekdays to make up for GWR’s withdrawn 1702 service.

GWR’s new timetable comes into force from May 15.