Passengers are advised to check before they travel as there will be yet more disruption to trains this week.

After strike action by members of Aslef, the union representing train drivers, on Wednesday, February 1 and Friday, February 3, there will be further disruption on Sunday, February 5, due to engineering works.

The “vital” works, between London and Gatwick, mean there will be no trains on the main line between the two stations.

There will be a long diversion between London and Gatwick, and a limited service between Brighton and the airport.

Journeys will take considerably longer than normal, and operators of Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express, have warned anyone planning to use the train to catch a flight from Gatwick to allow plenty of time.

There will be no through trains on the main line between London and Gatwick, and only two trains per hour between the airport and Brighton.

Services towards London from Littlehampton and Eastbourne will terminate at Three Bridges.

People travelling between London and Gatwick are advised to use a special diverted service of two trains per hour between London Victoria and the airport that will run via Horsham. The journey will take around 80 minutes.

Passengers travelling between Brighton or the East Sussex coast and London are advised to travel via Three Bridges and use either the replacement bus service between Three Bridges and East Grinstead, to connect with trains to or from London, or the diverted but direct London train via Horsham.

For those who have to travel on the main line between Gatwick and East Croydon, a limited service will run between Gatwick Airport and Brighton, with replacement buses operating between Gatwick Airport and all stations to East Croydon.

Passengers planning to use replacement buses are advised that because of a national shortage of bus drivers, they should check before they travel and may experience delays.

On the following Sunday, February 12, the lines between Three Bridges and Brighton, and between Three Bridges and Lewes will be closed for separate engineering work.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Southern and Thameslink, said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience to customers during Network Rail’s essential work to keep this busy route in good shape.

“While we’ve arranged alternatives for our customers to get where they need to be, several routes are affected and many journeys will take considerably longer than normal, so please check your routes and times on a journey planner, or the Southern or Thameslink website, well ahead of your journey.”