Editing Gatwick Express (section)

== Services ==
[[File:2 Gatwick Express interior.jpg|thumb|Interior of a Gatwick Express branded Class 387]]
{{update|the out-of-date service tables|date=September 2024}}
<section begin="service-table"/>
Gatwick Express operates an express commuter and airport transfer service between [[London Victoria station|London Victoria]], [[Gatwick Airport railway station|Gatwick Airport]], [[Haywards Heath railway station|Haywards Heath]] and [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]]. Between 6:00{{Nbsp}}am and 9:00{{Nbsp}}am on weekdays, northbound services call additionally at [[Preston Park railway station|Preston Park]], [[Hassocks railway station|Hassocks]] and [[Burgess Hill railway station|Burgess Hill]]. Services stop additionally at the same stations in the southbound direction between 5:00{{Nbsp}}pm and 8:00{{Nbsp}}pm.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last = Southern Railway |date = 23 May 2023 |title = Table R: London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton (Gatwick Express services only) |url = https://timetables.southernrailway.com/api/index.php?page=pdf_v2&params=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 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230822123820/https://timetables.southernrailway.com/api/index.php?page=pdf_v2&params=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 |archive-date = 22 August 2023 |access-date = 22 August 2023 |website = timetables.southernrailway.com}}</ref>

As of May 2023, the off-peak Monday-Saturday, with frequencies in 'trains per hour' (tph), consists of:<ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Route || {{Abbr|tph|Trains per hour}} || Calling at
|-
| {{stn|London Victoria}} – {{rws|Brighton}} || 2 || {{rws|Gatwick Airport}}, {{Rws|Haywards Heath}}<ref name="tt184">{{NRtimes|May 2023|175|London, Croydon and Gatwick Airport to Haywards Heath and Brighton|Sussex}}</ref>
|}
On Sundays, Gatwick Express operates a half-hourly shuttle service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport only.<ref name=":0" />

<section end="service-table" />

=== Past services ===
From privatisation until December 2008, the service pattern was one train every 15 minutes non-stop between {{rws|London Victoria}} and {{rws|Gatwick Airport}}.

In April 2007, the Department for Transport announced that the Gatwick Express franchise was to be incorporated into the [[Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)|South Central]] franchise.<ref>{{cite press release |url = http://www.whitehallpages.net/news/archive/26530 |title = Agreement signed to amend Gatwick Express and Southern franchises |publisher = Department for Transport |date = 19 June 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131102171503/http://www.whitehallpages.net/news/archive/26530 |archive-date=2 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url = http://www.go-ahead.com/media/news/2007news/2007-06-19.aspx |title = Agreement to Amend Gatwick Express and Southern Franchises |publisher = Go-Ahead |date = 19 June 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121123151534/http://go-ahead.com/media/news/2007news/2007-06-19.aspx |archive-date = 23 November 2012 |df = dmy-all }}</ref> as part of a plan to increase capacity on the [[Brighton Main Line]]. As a result, peak-time services were extended beyond Gatwick to/from {{rws|Brighton}} from December 2008, with northbound trains running every 15 minutes in the morning peak and southbound trains to Brighton every 15 minutes in the evening peak. This change doubled the number of London-to-Brighton express trains during peak periods. Additional calls were made at {{rws|Haywards Heath}}, {{rws|Wivelsfield}}, {{rws|Burgess Hill}}, {{rws|Hassocks}} and/or {{rws|Preston Park}}; the stopping pattern for northbound services was not regular but all stations received at least one train a day, while all services called at Haywards Heath; the southbound services were more structured, with all services calling at Haywards Heath and half-hourly services for Burgess Hill, Hassocks and Preston Park (no southbound trains served Wivelsfield).

As part of the December 2015 timetable, Gatwick Express began serving Brighton all day (except on Sundays), with half-hourly services in the off-peak and evenings (while the remaining services continue to terminate at Gatwick Airport). Unlike peak-time services, these call at no intermediate stations between Brighton and the airport. These services replaced the half-hourly "express" services operated by Southern (which did not call at Gatwick Airport).

In May 2018, the stopping pattern for peak-time services was changed: all calls at Wivelsfield and Preston Park stations were withdrawn, Hassocks is now served by all peak Gatwick Express services every 15 minutes, while Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath are served half-hourly (by alternate services) in both directions. Services to and from Preston Park were restored in May 2019, though, with half-hourly calls made by the same trains that stop at Burgess Hill.

=== Ticketing ===
London – Gatwick is one of the few journeys on the UK [[National Rail]] network for which tickets restricting travel to certain brands of service are available in addition to the option of standard inter-available fares for immediate travel as on all flows shared by different National Rail operators (although some restrictions may apply on cheaper tickets). Through tickets for which the [[Brighton Main Line]] is part of a permitted route are valid on the Gatwick Express service as with all other [[Govia Thameslink Railway]] services, the only exclusion being some tickets from London to stations south of Gatwick routed ''Not Gatwick Express''.

Historically, standard Gatwick Express services did not charge [[penalty fare]]s and permitted tickets to be purchased on board at no extra charge. Journeys to or from stations south of Gatwick were subject to penalty fares as normal.<ref name="SouthernGatExp">{{cite web |url = http://www.southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=601 |title = Gatwick Extension |publisher = Southern railway |access-date = 23 December 2008 |date = December 2008 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="GatExpExtension">{{cite web |url = https://www.gatwickexpress.com/content.asp?pageid=118 |publisher = Southern |title = Gatwick Express – New Extended Service |access-date = 3 January 2009 |date = December 2008 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This rule applied to the six weekday services each way that start or end at [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]].
However, in December 2011 electronic ticket gates were installed at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria platforms 13 and 14 (where the Gatwick Express arrives and departs), meaning that tickets can no longer be bought on the train and must be purchased either in advance or at the station before boarding.<ref name="gatwickexpressticketgates">{{cite web |url = http://www.gatwickexpress.com/en/your-journey/station-improvements/ticket-gates/ |publisher = Southern Railway |title = Ticket gates – Gatwick Express |access-date = 14 March 2012 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120307193702/http://www.gatwickexpress.com/en/your-journey/station-improvements/ticket-gates/ |archive-date = 7 March 2012 |df = dmy-all }}</ref>

London [[Oyster Cards]] and [[Contactless payment|contactless cards]] have been accepted for travel since January 2016 between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2015-11-13/oyster-cards-to-be-used-at-gatwick-and-surrey-stations/ |title = Gatwick and Surrey stations to accept Oyster cards and contactless payments &#124; Meridian – ITV News |publisher = Itv.com |date = 13 November 2015 |access-date = 22 March 2017 |archive-date = 16 November 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151116023538/http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2015-11-13/oyster-cards-to-be-used-at-gatwick-and-surrey-stations/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The fare is charged differently at the Gatwick Express gateline at London Victoria station compared to other platforms which Southern services use.

=== Performance ===
In May 2013, the Chairman of Gatwick Airport, [[Roy McNulty]], criticised the Gatwick Express service for its overcrowding and old rolling stock. He said that the train service sometimes "at times veers towards Third World conditions" and that it gives air passengers arriving in the United Kingdom a bad first impression of the UK, and called for major improvements. Southern responded by stating that it had provided some 20,000 extra peak-hour seats every week on the London-Brighton line.<ref name=mcnulty-thirdworld>{{cite news |last=Cecil |first=Nicholas |title= Gatwick Express 'veers towards Third World conditions' |url= https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/gatwick-express-veers-towards-third-world-conditions-8623415.html |access-date=23 May 2013 |newspaper= London Evening Standard |date=20 May 2013 |archive-date=18 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131018105212/http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/gatwick-express-veers-towards-third-world-conditions-8623415.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://centreforaviation.com/news/gatwick-express-at-times-veers-towards-third-world-conditions-gatwick-chairman-231999 |title= Gatwick Express 'at times veers towards Third World conditions': Gatwick chairman |website= centreforaviation.com |date=21 May 2013 }}</ref>

In August 2018, Govia Thameslink Railway was directed by the [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]] (an independent advertising regulator) to remove claims of a 30-minute journey time between London and Gatwick due to poor performance on the line.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/govia-thameslink-railway-ltd-a18-445296.html |title=ASA Ruling on Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd |date=1 August 2018 |publisher= Advertising Standards Authority |id= Complaint Ref: A18-445296 |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=1 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180801094529/https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/govia-thameslink-railway-ltd-a18-445296.html |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/eurostar-gatwick-express-advertising-standards-authority-claims-ps29-fares-train-times-a8471866.html |title= Eurostar and Gatwick Express ordered to change 'misleading' advert claims on price and journey times |newspaper=The Independent |location= London |first=Simon |last=Calder |date=1 August 2018}}</ref>