Press release -
Airport station upgrade allows faster journeys in GTR’s winter timetable
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has announced timetable changes to be introduced from Sunday 11 December 2022. While changes to individual services will be small, a large proportion of the operator’s trains will have slightly different departure times, particularly on Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink, so it will be very important that customers check their journeys in advance of travel.
Platform and track improvements at Gatwick Airport station, due for completion early next year (see press release), provide an opportunity to shorten journey times and boost punctuality on most routes using the Brighton Main Line. To take full advantage, the times of all trains serving the Airport station will be adjusted to “clock-face” patterns – that is, with departures at the same times each hour throughout the day.
About 700 trains - a quarter of GTR’s total weekday services - will be affected by these slight changes. As a result, peak-hour journey times between Brighton and London Bridge will reduce by up to 10 minutes.
The times of Thameslink’s Luton to Rainham, Luton to Orpington and St Albans to Sutton services will also be adjusted slightly, in readiness for the opening of the new Brent Cross West station expected later in 2023.
Some additional changes build on improvements made earlier this year to match services with new patterns of demand since the impact of the Covid pandemic. For instance:
- between East Grinstead and London Bridge, two additional Thameslink services will run in the morning and evening peaks;
- all Bedford to Gatwick Airport services will be extended through to Three Bridges, and will call additionally at South Croydon, providing an all-day Thameslink service there for the first time;
- more Peterborough-London and Cambridge-London midweek peak-time Great Northern services will run with 12 carriages instead of eight.
Angie Doll, GTR’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “This new timetable brings improvements on several fronts. Many of our customers can look forward to faster and more punctual trains, and some routes will have more capacity at busier times. Many departure times will change by a few minutes, so if you’re planning to travel after December 11th, please check the new timetable in advance.
“We’ll continue to monitor how passengers are using our services, and we’ll make more adjustments to balance demand and resources across the network when and where practical.”
Journey planners have already been updated with the changes, and new downloadable timetables will be available from Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink websites from 5 December.
The RMT union has also announced industrial action in December. We are working closely with the wider rail industry to determine how this will affect our train service, but the network is expected to be severely reduced. More information will follow.
Ends
Editors’ notes
December timetable example peak time journey improvements:
- Brighton to London Bridge – reducing from 71/68 minutes to 61 minutes
- Haywards Heath to London Bridge – 47 minutes to 44 minutes
- Gatwick Airport to London Bridge – 33 minutes to 29 minutes
- Littlehampton to London Victoria –114 minutes to 109 minutes
Key timetable changes from 11 December 2022
Thameslink
East Grinstead to Bedford
Two additional Thameslink services (to create three in total) will run in both the AM and PM peaks to provide direct services between East Grinstead and central London, and additional space for customers between East Croydon and London Bridge.
Littlehampton to Bedford
From 3 January, the current one AM and one PM direct Thameslink services between Littlehampton and Bedford will run between Littlehampton and London Bridge only. The timings of both trains will change to better match demand. The AM service will depart Littlehampton at 06:05, arriving at London Bridge at 07:55. The PM service will depart London Bridge at 17:33, arriving at Littlehampton at 19:22.
Bedford to Gatwick Airport via Redhill
To provide improved connections in the South Croydon and Crawley areas, and improve punctuality at Gatwick, all Bedford to Gatwick Airport via Redhill services will be extended through to Three Bridges.
As part of this change, all services will call additionally at South Croydon, providing a Thameslink service throughout the day at this station for the first time.
In the morning peak, Bedford to Three Bridges services will not call at Merstham and some will not call at Coulsdon South. Southern and other Thameslink services will continue to call at these stations.
Brighton to Bedford, Brighton to Cambridge
The times of individual services at stations between Brighton and Gatwick Airport will change to enable platforms five and six at Gatwick Airport to be brought into use. In the morning peak, Brighton to Cambridge services will not call at Preston Park or Hassocks. Southern, Gatwick Express and other Thameslink services will continue to call at these stations.
Luton to Rainham, Luton to Orpington, and St Albans to Sutton
There will be small timing changes of a few minutes to these services, which will call at Brent Cross West when it opens (expected 2023).
Southern and Gatwick Express
All services via Gatwick Airport
Train times will change slightly on many services to enable platforms five and six at Gatwick Airport to be brought into use.
Great Northern
Peterborough to King’s Cross and Cambridge to King’s Cross
In peak hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, more services will run with twelve rather than eight carriages between Peterborough and King’s Cross and Cambridge and King’s Cross.
Gatwick Airport station upgrade
For more information on the Gatwick Airport station upgrade see our press release.
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For more information, contact the press office on 0203 750 2031.
Govia Thameslink Railway
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
- Thameslink – cross-London services between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/Littlehampton/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks
- Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
- Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
- Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria
www.southernrailway.com, www.thameslinkrailway.com, www.gatwickexpress.com, www.greatnorthernrail.com
