London to Brighton trains resume after fire disruption

Passengers at Haywards Heath faced long delays following the fire at Preston Park on Friday

A normal Christmas timetable is in place on the railway between Brighton and London after repairs were carried out following an electrical fire.

Trains to Gatwick Airport and across Sussex were cancelled or delayed because of the fire in the Preston Park area of Brighton on Friday.

Main line services were disrupted or replaced by buses through the weekend.

On Monday, Southern trains from Seaford to Newhaven Harbour were replaced by buses because of an electrical fault.

Southern said it finalised testing of the signalling system at Preston Park in time to run its advertised Christmas Eve service.

It said last departures would be about 21:00 GMT, with no trains running on Christmas Day.

A special service will operate on the Brighton main line and Gatwick Express routes on 26 December, but there will be no other trains.

Southeastern said its last trains would depart from London terminals at about 20:00 GMT on Christmas Eve, with no services on Christmas Day or 26 December except on the high speed line between Ashford in Kent and St Pancras.