6 days Ago
A 5ft 1in-tall woman has described platform gaps at Brighton railway station as "extremely scary" as she criticised train ticket price hikes. Diane Messias slammed Southern Rail for delays and fare increases which she says has affected her ability to work - and also warned of what she perceived as dangerous gaps on certain platforms. Southern Rail says its platforms adhere to "stringent and robust safety regulations".
She said: "I’m a comedy writer now and I had a skit about the most overused phrase in the English language – ‘Southern rail is sorry to announce’." READ MORE: Southern Rail rated worst for value for money in survey Thirty years ago, Diane was commuting to London from Brighton every day for her work as a producer at the BBC. Her season ticket, which cost around £2000, was paid for by the BBC and then taken out in chunks from her salary.
Back then, services between London and Brighton were operated by Connex South Central. Connex was widely criticised for poor customer service, frequent delays, use of “slam doors” rather than sliding doors, and dirty interiors. In 2000, the franchise was awarded to Govia, which adopted the name Southern Rail.
After moving out of Brighton and living abroad for several years, Diane returned to the city in 2015. “A season ticket is now £5,600 – it’s a disaster. I can’t afford to freelance in London”, she said.
“That’s more than a 200 per cent increase. It should have doubled in that time, but not almost tripled. “This country is a huge rip off.
I’ve lived on the continent and there the attitude is not as much ‘make as much money out of people as you can’.” After moving back to Brighton, Diane spent four years travelling to London where she taught as an associate lecturer at Goldsmith’s University. She said unreliable services caused her to be frequently late to lectures.
She said: “No matter how early I left, I was late to so many lectures which was very frustrating. “If anything went wrong, it always took two hours one way which made for a four hour round trip. “In the past, all the infrastructure was owned by the state.
"A lot of it was badly run but when you privatise, the main aim is for the company to make money for its shareholders. "Even though we pay through the nose for services, they don’t reinvest.” She said at times the gap can be "extremely scary" (Image: Annabel Stock) At 5ft 1in, Diane also feels there is a “public safety issue” when boarding trains from Brighton.
“Some of the trains are over a foot higher than the platform and set back a long way from the platform edge, which is extremely scary for someone who's only 5ft1 tall." Diane pointed to incidents of people falling through gaps between trains and platforms at other stations. In 2024, the BBC reported that that a woman fell through a gap between the train and the platform at Clapham Junction station, breaking her leg in two places.
“No one is ever around to help", she said. A spokesman for GTR said: “Fares used by most passengers are regulated by the Department for Transport to rise no more than the rate of inflation annually, plus one per cent. "These include season tickets, peak anytime fares and some off-peak fares.
“Recently, we’ve introduced a combination of new discounted advance peak tickets, fare freezes and weekly season ticket capping to continue ensuring passengers are getting the best value for money. “All the income we receive in ticket sales is passed to the government to help run the railway and fund improvements. “Any passenger who feels they may need assistance getting on or off a train can speak to our dedicated team, who will be more than happy to help.
“The platforms at all of our stations, including Brighton, conform to stringent and robust safety regulations.”.
