Drag Queens to help Brighton Pride rail passengers travel safely

Two Drag Queens will be helping to keep railway passengers safe this weekend as more than 300 thousand people enjoy the return of Brighton Pride.

Stephen Richards and Jason Sutton also known as Lola Lasagne and Miss Jason have been enlisted by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and will be making announcements over the loud speaker system to get people on and off trains and safely off the platforms.

The pair have both been part of the UK drag scene for more 25 years, performing regularly in Brighton.

Stephen Richards, who performs as Lola Lasagne, said: "I regularly travel through Brighton station, so the chance to record my own PA announcements was too exciting to turn down!

"People from all over the UK travel to Brighton for Pride weekend and these messages help to welcome everyone to our glorious hometown."

Jason Sutton, who performs as Miss Jason, added: "Well you know us drag queens - never ones to turn down an opportunity to get on the mic!

"It was so much fun running riot at Brighton station for the day and recording our own announcements. Huge thanks to GTR for letting us do our thing and for all their help in getting people to and from Pride."

On Saturday night there will be specific messages about the rainbow queuing system to help people leaving Brighton Pride find the right queue for their journey.

Ryan Massen, Southern Station Manager at Brighton and part of GTR's Pride-planning team, said: "Brighton and Hove Pride is an event we look forward to every year at GTR and we can't wait to welcome it back to the city next weekend. We're doing lots to help people travel safely by train and we thought, 'What better way to spread our travel messages this year than with the help of two well-known and much-loved drag performers?'

"If you're waiting for a train in the southern part of our network, then listen closely to station announcements from Monday 1st August as you may just hear a voice you recognise! Lola Lasagne and Miss Jason have been fabulous to work with and we can't wait to see them at the event."

GTR will be running an enhanced service across Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink over the weekend. Extra staff will also be on hand at Brighton station to help festival-goers.