Campaign group says ‘premium’ service’s ticket prices ‘bamboozle’ foreign visitors, and can be up to three times more expensive than standard fares. Railfuture is holding a public meeting this week to explain how capital-to-coast services could be improved immediately
A group representing rail passengers is calling for the end of the underused and expensive Gatwick Express service between Victoria and the airport, and for the four-trains-per-hour capacity to be used instead to relieve congestion on other Southern services, while including stops at Clapham Junction and East Croydon.
Gatwick Express has operated as a central London to airport service since 1984, using dedicated rolling stock. Since 2008, it has been operated by Southern, latterly Govia Thameslink.
But at a time when the Department for Transport is looking to streamline the rail fares system across the country, Gatwick Express is charging extra for its “premium” service, with the he operators implicitly accused of ripping off international visitors arriving at Gatwick.
Gatwick Express fares can be more than three times the cost of a regular ticket between Victoria and Gatwick. something campaigners call a “ruse” intended to “bamboozle” travellers.
In a report just published by the Railfuture group, they say, “In 2024 the ticket office at Gatwick Airport Station was removed and replaced with a series of 21 Ticket Vending Machines and one ticket counter.
“All written information about ticketing was also removed. Today there is no written information on ticketing at the station, only verbal announcements about Oyster and bankcards which can be used for journeys to any station in London.”
Railfuture’s report also highlights how the airport railway station, with its high footfall of international travellers, only has train ticket information in English, French and German, but no other languages, such as Italian, Spanish or Chinese.
Railfuture said: “There are 14 fare options between Gatwick Airport and Euston Station for example – with the most expensive (£35) more than three times the cheapest (£10.70).
“One wonders if this complexity is designed to bamboozle the uninformed to buy a far more expensive ticket than is necessary.”
Railfuture is the country’s leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.
The Railfuture report has been written by Coulsdon-based Charlie King, the long-time chair of the East Surrey Transport Committee and a former member of watchdog London Travelwatch.
Time to stop: an extra four trains per hour, stopping at Clapham Junction and East Croydon, would do much to ease overcrowding on existing Southern services
King says that the Gatwick Express service is “not working in the interests of passengers” and that other service between the capital and south coast end up being are overcrowded “an inconvenient and unwanted consequence of the current arrangement”.
King told Inside Croydon: “Travellers who choose Gatwick Express can end up paying 125% of the cost of the cheaper Southern service for a saving of no more than two or three minutes and possibly waiting while two or three Southern services arrive and leave before their train departs.”
King and Railfuture want to see Gatwick Express services scrapped, instead becoming an integral part of Southern’s services to the airport, and for all fares “rationalised”, with a single fare to and from central London stations (including Farringdon and London Bridge), with direct services to and from Gatwick.
Railfuture is staging a public meeting this week, on Thursday, November 20, at a venue close to Gatwick Airport. The meeting, starting at 7.30pm, is at Salfords Village Hall, 5 Honeycrock Lane, Salfords, Redhill RH1 5DG, just a short walk from Salfords railway station. The meeting is open to all.
Railfuture also ask the public to write to their MP, asking them to press the Department for Transport “to end the current Gatwick Express ruse” and implement fare simplification.
Neil Middleton, the vice chair of Railfuture, said “Because anyone with the necessary knowledge avoids Gatwick Express like the plague, the other services that passengers do use can get overcrowded – including the need to stand for the journey.
“If you do not do your research, it is far too easy to end up choosing to travel by Gatwick Express – spending extra money for a journey that arrives later than an earlier, cheaper service. Gatwick does not have a ticket office, so getting answers to questions such as ‘What’s the cheapest ticket to London?” is much more difficult to answer’.”
Railfuture says that its suggested changes will deliver a better service to current passengers now, with simplified ticketing offering best value for money. “That will encourage more travellers to choose rail when accessing the airport and will enable better service patterns for both local trains operating to the airport, and London to south coast trains, improving services for London when travelling to and from places such as Brighton and Eastbourne.”
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Would this also apply to Heathrow Express which charges a premium?
Another issue with Govia Thameslink is the disparity in pricing between Southern and Thameslink when travelling from, say, East Croydon to Brighton, where travelling beyond Gatwick Airport. It is cheaper to use Thameslink to Brighton, and tickets cost less than Southern. Same company; Two tier pricing for the same journey (or at least the same distance).
Why “There are 14 fare options between Gatwick Airport and Euston Station for example” rather than Gatwick Airport to Victoria? Shome mistake, shurely
No.
People travel to Gatwick from more than one station in London, and this is one example.
Gatwick Express is a respected brand that offers a premium, great value, non-stop service between the airport and London Victoria. It operates with modern air-conditioned trains and its onboard staff routinely receive passenger praise.
Subject to DfT and regulatory approvals, we are looking at options to double the frequency of the service to run every 15 minutes. It was only ever reduced to create room for the station redevelopment at Gatwick and then delayed being reinstated because the pandemic supressed passenger numbers.
To travel on Gatwick Express requires an Any Permitted fare. At the busiest times of the day (in the peak) this costs just £4.20 more using Contactless than a restricted ticket that cannot be used on Gatwick Express. Railfuture is looking at the greatest price differential and including the cost of a Tube ticket to reach Euston. Gatwick Express and Southern trains run to Victoria, not Euston.
As Railfuture says, Gatwick Express trains may be less busy with passengers because of the price differential which is one of the factors that makes Gatwick Express a premium service better suited for air travellers with luggage.
In point of fact, Gatwick Airport railway station does have a ticket office. It was made open plan as part of the station redevelopment completed two years ago to accommodate the huge growth in passengers at the station, to help passenger flow through the newly-built concourse.
There are dedicated retail desks with ticket office equipment which sit between self-serve kiosks, all supported by the same staff as before, 24/7. Between them they continue to sell the full range of tickets and staff routinely help passengers choose the best ticket for their needs.
Previously the ticket office desks and ticket machines were in two separate areas and there were huge queues from both, back into the terminals. It was hugely confusing for people arriving into the country.
The changes to the layout have significantly reduced queuing times and improved the customer experience for the millions of passengers using Gatwick every year.
Why are red Gatwick Express trains used for non-express Southern journeys and vice versa?
When I commuted to London I found it frustrating that my train was held at Croydon or Windmill Bridge junction to allow the GX to pass, often with less than a dozen passengers on board