Commuters are facing a second day of travel disruption on the railways as strike action by the RMT continues.

Train services across Sussex have been paralysed as more than 40,000 RMT workers take industrial action across the country in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.

Rail firms are urging passengers to travel only if absolutely necessary and to travel as early as possible, with services that are operating expected to be extremely busy.

All Gatwick Express services are suspended, with much of the Southern and Thameslink rail network closed.

Routes along the London to Brighton line, as well as between Brighton and Hove, remain in operation, with all other services suspended.

Today is the second day of strike action by the RMT this week, with further walkouts planned for Friday and Saturday.

All trains across the county will be suspended on Thursday due to a one-day strike by the union Aslef, which represents 96 per cent of train drivers in Great Britain.

Trains in operation over the next few days will start later in the day and finish earlier as a result of the strike action.

First trains from Brighton today

  • 07.15 - to London Victoria
  • 07.24 - to London Bridge
  • 07.39 - to Hove

Last trains from Brighton today

  • 16.54 - to London Bridge
  • 17.40 - to Gatwick Airport, London Victoria
  • 18.09 - to Hove

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has called on the RMT to get “off the picket line and round the negotiating table”.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “There is a very fair pay offer on the table which has been accepted by two of the trade unions on Network Rail.

“The RMT recommended that their members didn’t accept it, but actually a third of their members still voted in favour of it.

“I think it is time that the RMT got off the picket line and round the negotiating table to try and hammer out a deal with the train operating companies and Network Rail.”

Mick Lynch, general secretary of RMT, said the union is in discussion with train-operating companies about a potential settlement.

Speaking from a picket line yesterday, he said: “I’ll come and meet the transport secretary whenever he wishes to.

“We were able to meet and they didn’t want to meet us, so they’ve waited until the strikes come to make these noises, but if they’d wanted to get a settlement and get the strikes off, they could have taken a bit more action and got things moving.”