SOUTHAMPTON rail commuters have escaped much of the mayhem caused by a controversial new timetable that came into force today.

Southern Railway has axed 341 trains a day, leaving thousands of people across the south-east either stranded or reliant on replacement buses to get to and from work.

The Southampton to Brighton line is among those hit, with almost no Southern trains operating between Southampton and Portsmouth.

Southern normally runs an hourly service direct from Southampton Central to Brighton. Only one of the 15 trains is operating but a company spokesman said Southern tickets were being accepted by South West Trains.

She added: "We also have 15 services a day to London from Southampton Central and all of those are running. "There are four services a day to either Barnham or Littlehampton and three of those are running."

The spokesman said passengers could use South West Train services between Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour or Havant, from where they could catch a Southern train.

She added: "Tickets are also accepted on Great Western Railway services between Southampton Central and Portsmouth/Brighton."

Southern says the new timetable aims to make services more "resilient" in the face of staff sickness and the threat of industrial action.

The company is at the centre of a long-running dispute over plans to dispense with guards and introduce driver-only operated trains.

Its decision to axe 341 trains a day has caused chaos on parts of the network, which is used by 1200,000 people a day - mostly across London, Kent and East Sussex.