People travelling to and from Brighton by train over the last weekend of the Easter school holiday were in for a nasty shock.

The first weekend had been bad enough, with the section between Preston Park and Brighton closed, but last weekend was a scandal.

There were no trains south of Three Bridges. A journey to and from London which would normally take less than an hour took more than an hour and a half and involved change from a train to a bus.

If you live in Eastbourne, it was even worse. You needed to take a train to either Lewes or Brighton, then catch a bus and then a train again.

I realise work on maintaining the railway system to ensure our safety is essential and, to avoid creating chaos for commuters, must be done at weekends.

But when we are being exhorted to leave our cars behind and take the train, who is the genius who arranged for this work to be done during a weekend when, irrespective of the magnificent weather, many families would be making the trip to the seaside?

Is it any wonder there are so many traffic jams on the way into Brighton?

Does anyone responsible for tourism in Brighton and Eastbourne make representations or complaints to Network Rail?

I did. I haven't had an answer yet.

Why am I not surprised?

  • John Bustard, Grand Crescent, Brighton