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Gatwick to Victoria -- Gatwick Express or Sourthern Railway?

Posted by on

Hi there!

My family of four will arrive at Gatwick on a Tuesday morning in June at about noon and we have a B&B booked very near Victoria Station. I planned to take the Gatwick Express -- easy and direct - but looking on this forum see many recommendations for a Southern Railways train? So I did a bit of a search -- it appears I can buy 4 "Anytime Single tickets - fully flexible, for travel at any time of day" on Southern Railway for 38.05 pounds. A search on the Gatwick Express site - which appears to have exactly the same format using different colors - found 4 "Anytime Single tickets - fully flexible, for travel at any time of day" for 43.95 pounds.

The flexibility of the "anytime" ticket is necessary in case our flight is delayed at all. Our British Airways flight will arrive at Terminal S. Can any of you wonderful travelers give me any reason -- other than the $7.60 price difference - to choose one over the other? Is one or the other easier to navigate to from Terminal S? Is one or the other more reliable and consistently on time? Is one train much nicer ($7.60 nicer) than the other?

Thank you!

Thanks for any feedback?

Posted by
23268 posts

Southern trains are slower with more stops. Really only difference.

Posted by
32756 posts

Not much slower, about 5 minutes. Not many more stops, only East Croydon and perhaps Clapham Junction. Locals on the Southern, tourists on the Gatwick Express. The reason the web pages look similar is that they are under the same owners. Fewer strikes on Gatwick Express, but all strikes are well advertised and often warned here.

More room for luggage on Gatwick Express. Either will do nicely. You pays your money and takes your choice.....

No need for Anytime at that time of day. Off-Peak single will do, if available. Anytime means you can travel at Peak time, what you might call rush hour. You aren't. Overkill.

The two terminals are named by the relative direction from each other, there is a North Terminal and a South Terminal. Don't call it terminal S or you may confuse people and they may not know what you are trying to say.

Posted by
786 posts

We used the Gatwick Express with "anytime" tickets, as our flight landed about 8 a.m. The train was fine, but it was indeed packed to the gills at that time of morning. We had to stand the whole way with our bags at our feet. I would expect noon would be much more agreeable.

Posted by
977 posts

We took the Gatwick Express from Victoria. Quick and efficient. Sky train to our terminal, quick and easy/ Bit bemused that an airport specific train had a minmimal amount of luggage storage. I suppose seats are more profitable than that luggage racks!!

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