Southern's managing director Chris Burchell has indicated he is aiming to find extra carriages to relieve congestion on overcrowded trains running from London to Lewes, Polegate and Eastbourne in the evening peak.
The pledge came in two meetings this week between the MP and Southern's boss, the first on Monday at the Department for Transport, also attended by DfT officials and commuter group representatives, and the second in a follow-up one-to-one meeting on Wednesday in the MP's Westminster office.
The rail company has, under pressure, carried out checks to establish which trains are overcrowded. These show unacceptable levels of overcrowding on three services to Eastbourne: the 16.17 from Victoria, the 17.23 from London Bridge, and the 18.47 from Victoria. The findings are in line with complaints that the MP has received from angry commuters.
Norman has said: "It is welcome that Southern has belatedly accepted that which I, and many angry passengers, have been pointing out for a year, namely that the new timetable introduced last year produced a number of unwelcome consequences for passengers travelling to Plumpton, Lewes, Polegate and beyond, not least the fact that the number of evening rush-hour carriages actually reduced.
"I have been pressing Southern very hard to deal with this matter and hope it will not be long before these three trains at least are lengthened by four carriages each.
"The meeting on Monday also revealed something else we had all suspected, namely that trains to Brighton are more lightly loaded than trains to Lewes and Eastbourne. Last year the DfT required Southern to run three Gatwick trains through to Brighton in the evening peak. I have now formally asked Andrew Adonis, in a letter to him this week, to redirect one of those trains off the Brighton line and to Lewes and Eastbourne instead.
"I will be having further discussions with Southern over the next month and will be meeting Andrew Adonis before Christmas."
Stephen Lloyd, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Eastbourne adds: "Eastbourne people have a right to expect action from both Southern and the Department for Transport, and while the prospect of extra carriages is welcome, I will not be letting up the pressure until they actually arrive."
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