Gatwick Express - Tickets & Fares

Tickets & Fares

An Express Class (standard class) adult single ticket costs £18.90, and a return £33.20 (child ticket costs £9.45 and £16.60, respectively). Although when bought in advance online (at http://www.gatwickexpress.com/), prices are discounted (adult: £16.85 single, £27.90 return; child: £8.40 single, £13.95 return).

These prices are higher than those of the Southern stopping services on the same route (between £13.20 and £13.70 for a standard class, adult single fare, depending on whether the time of travel is peak/off-peak and whether the route is restricted to Southern trains only, or any non-Gatwick Express train).

This is supposed to reflect the premium frequency and non-stop service that the Gatwick Express offers, despite the fact that the Southern and other local/stopping services are actually just as frequent and take only 1–8 minutes longer than the Gatwick Express.

Patient and savvy travelers can actually travel between London Victoria (or other central London National Rail stations) and Gatwick Airport cheapest by using an Oyster card to travel as far as East Croydon, at a cost of £2.80/£4.50 (off-peak/peak), and then to Gatwick Airport via First Capital Connect services at a cost of £5.00 or Southern services at a cost of £5.70 (i.e. total cost £7.80–£10.20). Whilst not non-stop, as one must change trains at East Croydon in order to touch in or out of the Oyster card system, the frequency of trains between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport is such that changeover times are minimal (as little as one minute). Trains are often non-stop between Victoria and East Croydon, and between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport, and with each leg taking as little as 15 minutes, a total journey time of under 40 minutes is entirely possible.

In addition, tickets for travel via First Capital Connect between Gatwick Airport and East Croydon can, like Gatwick Express tickets, often be purchased in-flight on carriers such as easyJet, thus avoiding queues at the ticket machines in Gatwick Airport South Terminal after landing and clearing security.

Historical fares:

• January 2007 £14.90
• July 2007 £15.90
• January 2008 £16.90
• July 2008 £17.90
• March 2009 £16.90
• January 2012 £18.90

London - Gatwick is one of the few journeys on the UK National Rail network for which passengers are required to choose between different operators when buying tickets — on all other flows shared by different National Rail operators tickets for immediate travel are inter-available, although some restrictions may apply on cheaper tickets. Through tickets for which the London-Gatwick line is part of a permitted route are valid on the Gatwick Express, provided they are not endorsed Not Gatwick Express. Tickets from London to stations south of Gatwick generally bear this restriction. Passengers cannot travel on Gatwick Express using the Network Railcard discount for South East England, unless part of a through ticket to/from beyond Victoria. Southern tickets to Redhill can be used in emergencies, as the train stops there during such times.

Historically, standard Gatwick Express services did not charge penalty fares 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. This rule applied to the six weekday services each way that start or end at 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.