Gatwick Express saved

The high speed Gatwick Express rail service from central London has won a reprieve.

The non-stop link from the capital to the airport every 15 minutes was threatened with closure as part of planned changes to the London-Brighton line.

But instead the franchise will change from National Express to Southern in May 2008, providing increased capacity. The new Gatwick Express will run from December next year including both the high speed connection and Southern services.

Airlines at Gatwick had lobbied for the Gatwick Express to be saved from closure.

The service will run beyond Gatwick to Brighton at peak times, according to the Department for Transport.

Service changes from December 2008 will see the number of express trains between London and Brighton double at the busiest times.

Six 10-carriage Gatwick Express trains in the 90-minute morning peak period will start at Brighton, calling at Haywards Heath, Gatwick and London Victoria, up from the current seven-carriage trains. The same number of services will run from London in the evening peak, with some stopping at intermediate stations in both directions.

Unused coaches will be taken out of mothballs and reconditioned to provide the extra trains. Two extra trains will also run from Redhill to London in the peak.

The changes will provide more than 3,700 seats to and from London at the busiest times, the DoT said.

An extra 48 carriages are also to be added to the Thameslink route which runs between Brighton and Bedford, with the first 16 to begin operating by the end of this year.

Transport secretary Douglas Alexander said: "This is good news for both rail and air passengers.

"Not only are we adding more seats and more trains on some of the country's busiest rail routes, we are also keeping the fast, frequent Gatwick Express.

"We have done this by making better use of track space, taking carriages out of storage and approving the building of new trains.

The need to increase capaciity is a real challenge facing the railway industry and it is a priority for my department."

Delta Air Lines UK sales director Armin Venencie said the airline "broadly welcomes" the DfT's decision to protect an all-day, non-stop train service between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria.

He said: "The provision of a fast and frequent service to and from the airport is key to meet the needs of air passengers and protects London-Gatwick's position as a convenient option for customers travelling to and from central London.

"While the mixing of rail commuters and air passengers is not ideal, Delta understands the need for a balance on the Brighton main line and is pleased that the Department has recognised the views of Delta and other US carriers serving Gatwick to keep a regular, non-stop service in place between Gatwick and London."

With permission from Travelmole

Have been looking into booking 8 days parking at Gatwick for end of May. I requested 24 May (instead of 25 May) and noticed it came up considerably cheaper for 9 days parking rather than 8!!

The rates must change over to peak rates on 25 May.

The charge for APH was £39.92 on 24 May until 1st June and £56.00 on 25 May until 1st June.

Charge for BCP is £42.95 on 24 May - 1 June and £59.00 on 25 May - 1 June.

well that is rather interesting Lesley. i wonder what would happen tho when you didnt turn up on the 24th

lyn

I'm sure if we turned up 3 hrs late so that it went into 25th May, we would be charged the higher rate

Haven't booked anything yet. We will probably go the night before anyway, so we could book the car in on the 24th.

Arrrrgh, I hate early flights!!!!!!!!

If you pay up front Lesley im sure it would be fine . We always use APH at gatwick .always found them very good. when we had Our 33 hr delay at easter i thought they would charge us an extra 2 days. I had a little chat with the lady about our delay , then she just handed me the car keys. no mention of any more money

lyn

That was very good of APH.

anybody recomend a car park where you get to take your keys away with you
thanks terry

Oli,
We always use Parking Express which is right next to the South Terminal (transfer time in the bus about 5 minutes). It is usually slightly more expensive than the others but much more convenient to get in/out of. We book as far in advance as possible for the best prices - anything over a month in advance gives a good discount (booked via the BAA web site for Gatwick). For example, June 10th 05:00 to June 17th 17:00 booked back in January costs £46.40. You book in advance, it recognises your registration when you approach the barrier on the way in. Take the ticket, park (and lock) the car and get the bus - remembering to note where you parked and the bus stop number you use! On return, get off the bus, get back in the car and drive out using the ticket from the entry process. Within three/four minutes of leaving the car park you are back on the M23.
Recommended.

Cheers,
Jet

thanks jetnoise i have booked the carpark even though we are going from the north terminal as it seems ideal for us.
the tudor rose parking does seem a good servise also
thanks terry

Wise move Terry. Last time we flew from the North terminal we booked the "Summer Special" parking as it is next to the North Terminal. What they didn't tell us is that the transfer bus only drops/picks up from the South terminal! We then had to get the monorail from the south to the north - a waste of time!

Cheers,
Jet

Just got a good discount on parking with BCP at Gatwick using the Egg promo code.

http://www.parkbcp.co.uk/index.aspx?ID1=WEB2070&ID2=11111&User=HYP

You do not have to use an Egg card to book.

I can most cetainly recommend Tudor Rose Meet and Greet Parking -
http://www.tudorrose.co.uk

We used them for 10 days at a cost of £55 - we phoned them about 20 minutes before arrival at the airport and they were there at the North Terminal to meet us - took the mileage details, signed the paperwork and that was that. On return we cleared customs, phoned them and waited no more than 5 minutes for the car, signed paperwork again and we were off. From landing to home - 90 miles away took just 2 and a half hours.

Would certainly use again - much better than having to wait for a bus to a car park!

Pippa

Pippa,
And where was your car for the 10 days you were away? Whilst I do not wish to infer that TudorRose are guilty of this, there have been recent reports of similar companies taking the car and, rather than parking it in a secured compound as promised, they leave them at the side of the road in trading estates and residential areas. There was also evidence of them having been racing the cars. One of these companies went bust recently (after a guest appearance on Watchdog) and simply handed in to the BAA a large cardboard box full of car keys. These belonged to people who were still away on holiday who returned to find that the company had disappeared and nobody knew where their car had been abandoned!

I, for one, would rather spend my money with a reputable company where I park the car myself and take the keys with me.

Cheers,
Jet

£55 for 10 days does seem questionably cheap. Especially given the fact that they have someone collect it from you at the airport and bring it back when you return. Either the bargain of the century or a case of "buyer beware". That said - TudorRose does seem to have lots of positive feedback from members.

If you look on the Tudor Rose web site you will see that they have their own car park only a matter of minutes away from the airport - indeed if you do not wish to be met at the airport you can drive to the car park instead. When I booked with them I was aware of these other companies who do not give the service promised. I checked out several reviews of Tudor Rose on this and other sites and booked with confidence.

They are also holders of a Surrey Police Park Mark award.

As I said previously the mileage of your car is taken on arrival so you can check how far your car has been.

It is a shame that a few rogue companies give a bad name to all similar set ups.

Pippa

Also used Tudor Rose meet and greet service at xmas, stayed at the nearby travelodge and when we phoned the rep he directed us over the phone to the drop-off point where he was waiting.

On our return it was more meet and wait, rang them as instructed but they said that due to a number of planes all arriving together there was an hour wait which was not ideal as it was peeing down and we had to drive back to B'ham.

Would use again though if we ever had to fly from Gatwick.

Can anyone recommend a nice place for a meal for 2 (pre Honeymoon) that's not too far away from LGW? (By taxi or a few stops on the train).
Don't really want any of the airport hotels (even though we're staying at the Sofitel!).
Thanks.

There is a really nice Chinese restaurant at the Sofitel. It's not cheap but is good for a special occasion.

Would prefer a nice meal in a country pub in one of the local villages - don't want the hotels!