Southern Railway is to cancel 341 trains a day in a revised timetable from next Monday, the company has announced.
The embattled operator has made the changes following weeks of disruption prompted by industrial action and train crew shortages.
A spokesman said the slimmed-down timetable was designed "to give passengers a better, more consistent service they can plan around".
One of the main routes affected is the operator's West London Line between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction, where all trains will be suspended until further notice.
Buses will replace some trains on other lines, and the loss of direct connections to major London stations may force some passengers to change services - prolonging their journeys.
The company claims "unprecedented" levels of staff sickness and the workforce's unwillingness to do overtime has been the main cause of "unpredictable and late notice" cancellations.
But Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said: "This latest savage attack on passenger services by GTR is nothing to do with staff sickness and everything to do with gross mismanagement of this franchise and the failure to employ enough guards and drivers to fill the current rosters and diagrams.
"The continuing attempt to blame the frontline workforce for this crisis is a cynical and cowardly ploy that will not wash with the travelling public."
Southern Railway runs some of the major routes connecting London with Brighton, Gatwick Airport and Southampton.
The changes are likely to frustrate passengers, many of whom pay thousands of pounds a year for season tickets.
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