- Rail capacity to double at Gatwick Airport in the next five years
- A train will leave the airport for London every three minutes
- State-of-the-art trains and robust new track and signalling systems coming
LONDON, 2015-4-23 — /Travel PR News/ — The first new Thameslink trains serving Gatwick Airport are on track to begin service from Spring 2016 on the Brighton to Bedford line, the manufacturer Siemens has announced, with a new image and video of the new trains also available.
From 2018, these new trains will also start operating on two new direct services connecting Gatwick to both Peterborough and Cambridge, following completion of the £6.5 billion Thameslink infrastructure upgrade programme.
In addition, new Gatwick Express trains will also start service between the airport and London Victoria from early 2016, with 108 new carriages built by Bombardier being designed specifically for the airport passenger.
The new trains will deliver more seats and mean rail capacity through Gatwick will double and a train will leave the airport for London every three minutes.
The new high frequency train service from Gatwick means that every hour an indicative timetable would be:
- Four dedicated Gatwick Express trains to Victoria
- Six trains to Victoria – originating from East and West Coastway, Horsham/Littlehampton, and Three Bridges/Haywards Heath
- Four trains to Bedford via London Bridge – originating from Gatwick and Brighton
- Two trains to Cambridge via London Bridge – originating from Brighton
- Two trains to Peterborough via London Bridge – originating from Horsham
- Two trains to London Bridge – originating from Littlehampton/West Coastway, and Haywards Heath/Three Bridges
In total, Siemens is building 55 new 12-car trains and 60 new eight-car trains for the Thameslink fleet, with the first set to arrive this summer into the purpose-built Three Bridges depot in Crawley, one of two new depots being constructed by Siemens to maintain the new fleet.
The improvements in services will be matched by a £120.5 million redesign to transform Gatwick Airport railway station by 2020 – more than doubling the size of the concourse area so it can comfortably meet the expected increase in passenger numbers.
Guy Stephenson, Gatwick’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“The new high frequency service that will serve Gatwick will transform rail journeys for our passengers, with capacity doubling and a train to London every three minutes.
“Crucially, the new trains will be much more reliable and will be stacked with amenities suited to the needs of air travellers. Combined with robust new track and signalling systems, Gatwick’s passengers will experience a really pleasant and dependable service.
“Overall, the improvements to Gatwick’s rail service means that 15 million people will be brought within 60 minutes of Gatwick by rail – the best reach of any UK airport.”
Gatwick has also today published ‘Gatwick on Track’ – a comparison of Gatwick and Heathrow’s road and rail plans.
The leaflet points out that Gatwick’s plans can be delivered with no additional cost to the taxpayer, unlike Heathrow’s which are likely to cost the public purse at least around £5 billion.
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For more information contact:
Gatwick Airport press office
t: + 44 (0) 1293 505000
e: gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com
About London Gatwick
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the most efficient single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for more than 38 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 21,000 on-airport jobs and a further 10,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
In its December 2013 interim report, the Airports Commission included London Gatwick and Heathrow on its shortlist of potential locations for a new runway in the UK. Expansion at Gatwick will best meet the UK’s aviation needs for the future, can provide the greatest economic boost with the least environmental impact, and a new runway can be operational by 2025. For further information, see: www.gatwickobviously.com
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