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Gatwick Express
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Gatwick Express is the name given to the frequent rail shuttle service between Victoria station in London and Gatwick Airport in South East England. Until June 2008, Gatwick Express was a separate train operating company (TOC) owned by Southern, that operated the separate Gatwick Express franchise. Both the TOC and the franchise were axed on 22 June 2008, when the service was transferred to Southern.
main service runs the 27 mile distance from London Victoria to Gatwick every 15 minutes.
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Gatwick Express is the name given to the frequent rail shuttle service between Victoria station in London and Gatwick Airport in South East England. Until June 2008, Gatwick Express was a separate train operating company (TOC) owned by Southern, that operated the separate Gatwick Express franchise. Both the TOC and the franchise were axed on 22 June 2008, when the service was transferred to Southern.
Service
The main service runs the 27 mile distance from London Victoria to Gatwick every 15 minutes. The average non-stop journey time is 30 minutes. The firm operates eight Class 460 trains on dedicated services to the airport. Gatwick Express, unlike Heathrow Express, is part of the National Rail network.
An Express Class (standard class) Single ticket costs £16.90 as of March 2009. This price is higher than those of the Southern and First Capital Connect stopping services, which are £10.90 (up from £8.90 in 2007). This reflects the non-stop service that the Gatwick Express offers. Passengers cannot travel on Gatwick Express using the Network Railcard discount.
Historical fares:
- January 2007 - £14.90
- July 2007 - £15.90
- January 2008 - £16.90
- July 2008 - £17.90
- March 2009 - £16.90
History
In 1975, the British Airports Authority airport director, John Mulkern, the chairman of British Caledonian Airways, Adam Thomson, and the regional manager of British Rail's Southern Region, Bob Reid (latterly Sir Bob Reid), formed the Gatwick Liaison Group to discuss matters of mutual interest.
As a subsidiary of this, the Gatwick Promotion Group, under the chairmanship of the airport public relations manager David Hurst, was formed to market the airport.
One of the first successes of the group was to persuade the board of British Rail to redevelop Gatwick station by building a raft over the platforms and this was opened by the BR chairman, Sir Peter Parker, in 1980.
It was a long term aim of the group to have a non-stop service between the airport and central London in order to counter the perceived distance from the capital both to the UK market and more especially to the potential passengers at the overseas destinations.
The first success was to brand the then current service which stopped at East Croydon as the Rapid City Link. This name was used as Adam Thomson strongly maintained that US passengers equated ‘express’ with buses.
However in 1984 the non-stop Gatwick Express service was started with ten units of reconditioned rolling stock with extra luggage space. A 30-minute journey time was advertised although it was recognised that some journeys would take nearer 35 minutes, especially in rush hours.
The first unit was taken on a promotional tour of the UK introducing it to travel agents in various centres, thought to be the first time a Southern Region train had travelled north. A visit to Scotland was ruled out because of union objections.
The original services were formed with Class 73 rolling stock and Mk2 coaching stock with specially modified GLV (Goods Luggage Vans) to carry passenger luggage.
In 2006, following the introduction of the modern fleet, the final Class 73 service ran an evening service from London Victoria and back to mark the end of the era for these trains. Two examples of the Mk2 coaching stock previously used on the Gatwick Express service can be found at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre in Ruddington and a full length Gatwick Express at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. The latter train is hauled by a Class 31 Diesel Locomotive, painted in Gatwick Express livery.
From the end of 2004 to 2006 there was controversy surrounding the service with some rail groups believing that Gatwick Express trains, which often run half-full (compared to the severe overcrowding on other services), made poor use of the limited capacity on some of the busiest train lines in the country. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) made proposals in the Brighton Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy for the Gatwick Express service to be incorporated into existing London to Brighton mainline services operated by Southern in an attempt to relieve commuter congestion. The aim was to provide a regular ten minute interval service from london victoria to Gatwick and the south coast. This idea was hotly disputed by the train operator as well as BAA, who feared that airport users would have to fight for space on the trains with commuters.
In 2005 a pair of Class 458 units, 458001 and 458002, transferred from South West Trains for use as a spare train if a 460 unit is out of action. They remained in South West Trains livery but with Gatwick Express branding. Their seating was modified from high density 3+2 seating configuration to 2+2 configuration, some seating was removed and replaced with luggage racks. However, these units were never called into service and have returned to operations with South West Trains.
Transfer to Southern
On 3 February 2006, the Department for Transport Rail Group (DfT), which took over the responsibilities of the SRA in summer 2005, announced that the service would be axed to free up space on the Brighton Main Line. Gatwick airport owner BAA campaigned to retain the dedicated airport link saying that 80% of respondents to an online poll favoured retaining the service, with backing from many airlines using the airport. Towards the end of 2006 the DfT embarked on a consultation exercise to examine the situation, offering four possible options - three of which would allow for some form of modified express service to be retained. A decision was made to keep the Gatwick Express and to expand the service to Brighton at peak times from December 2008. The Gatwick Express franchise ended on June 22, 2008, when the service was transferred to Southern. Initially, services continued unchanged.
In December 2008 the Gatwick Express was extended to start at Brighton during the morning peak period, and to terminate there in the evening peak. This doubles the number of London-Brighton express trains during those periods. The extra capacity is provided by leasing a number of Class 442 units that were not in use. However, only 6 units were reconditioned in time for the change, so 3 of these 6 services are initially being run using stock that has not been refurbished. The combined South Central/Gatwick Express franchise will end in September 2009, to allow the new franchise holder time to implement the major timetable changes planned for December 2009. The Gatwick Express retains its separate branding as part of the new franchise, similar to that of the Stansted Express within the Greater Anglia franchise.
Ticketing
London - Gatwick is one of few journeys on the UK National Rail network for which passengers are required to choose between different operators when buying tickets — on all other flows shared by different National Rail operators tickets for immediate travel are inter-available, although some restrictions may apply on cheaper tickets. Through tickets for which the London-Gatwick line is part of a permitted route are valid on the Gatwick Express, provided they are not endorsed "NOT GATWICK EXPRESS." Tickets from London to stations south of Gatwick generally bear this restriction. Passengers cannot travel on Gatwick Express using the Network Railcard discount for South East England.
Standard Gatwick Express services do not charge penalty fares and permit tickets to be purchased on board with no extra charge. However, journeys to or from stations south of Gatwick are subject to penalty fares. This rule applies, as of December 2008, to the 6 weekday services each way that start or end at Brighton.
Rolling stock
Current fleet
The Class 460 "Juniper" entered service on the Gatwick Express route in 2000, and there are 8 of these 8-car units currently used on Gatwick Express services. Class 442 "Wessex Electrics" units entered service on the 14 December 2008. These units are coupled togther to form 10 car trains. In peak hours, these trains run services to Brighton. The trains were recently refurbished for use on the route. The refurbishment included new seats, more seats, new large luggage racks and a new first class area in what used to be the buffet. The refurbishment also included a repaint into a modified version of the Gatwick Express livery.
Past fleet
Performance
The latest performance figures for Gatwick Express services to be released by the ORR as of the first quarter of the financial year 2008/9 are 95.8% PPM and 93.0% MAA. These figures are slightly up on those of the same periods last year.
See also
External links
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