Rail passengers are being urged to plan ahead as fewer trains are set to run over the Christmas period.

Engineering works and a seasonal timetable mean that widespread changes will be made to services.

Trains will end early on Christmas Eve and there will be no trains on Christmas Day.

Jenny Saunders, customer services director at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “We’ve worked closely with Network Rail to provide as full a service as possible for customers travelling over the festive period, and we thank customers for their understanding.

“Please check your journeys throughout the period, including the week before Christmas when we expect services to be particularly busy.

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“Do please also allow plenty of extra time, especially where services are finishing early or replacement buses are running.”

As part of the seasonal timetable services will operate a normal Sunday service on Christmas Eve until 5pm. The service will then be gradually closed down with trains arriving at their final destination by 9pm.

Two trains per hour will then operate from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport as well as one train per hour from London Victoria to Three Bridges and Brighton respectively.

Services from Brighton to Southampton will also be disrupted due to engineering works until December 29.