Gatwick Express services reduced.

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  • openfly
    Participant

    Govia have announced that 53 Gatwick Express services are to be cancelled daily until mid-Dec. According to the BBC the reason given is “the possibility of the wrong leaves on the line”!
    One can only assume that passengers who are unaware of this information will purchase a very expensive fare for the GE and then find themselves on a Southern regular train without recourse to a refund for the much lower fare on that train. This is on the assumption that Southern are not on their weekly strike.
    Definitely part of the case for giving Heathrow the extra runway. Gatwick surface travel is grim.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Reminds me of the joke of the bandits wanting to hijack a train in the wild west. The leader is putting leaves on the track as he turns to his men and says “Trust me, this will work”. ?


    GivingupBA
    Participant

    openfly said, “Gatwick surface travel is grim.” You are so right and I am sick to death of it. I have been let down many times, and badly, by the Gatwick Express and by Southern trains. I have SEVERAL TIMES, unbelievably but true, been reduced to getting to Gatwick from London or vice versa by getting the Heathrow Express to/from Heathrow, AND THEN a National coach from Heathrow to Gatwick or vice versa. A long and expensive journey but in the travel chaos I’ve seen at Gatwick, unavoidable.

    OK rant over, thanks for listening! I love travelling, honest!


    openfly
    Participant

    @GivingupBA….if LGW gets a second runway, not only will the public transport be worse, but can only dread how bad the M23/M25 will become!


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    In fact for the past couple of years Southern has actioned a special “leaf fall timetable” at this time of year.

    With the growth in long distance commuting the problem of overcrowded trains on this overcrowded route can only get worse.


    GivingupBA
    Participant

    openfly, that’s right, that obvious result of LGW getting a second runway hadn’t even occurred to me… the mind boggles! And oh dear, the M25 (not my favourite road during the Friday rush hour….).


    MrMichael
    Participant

    Anyone anywhere on the M25 on a Friday evening needs their head examined.


    openfly
    Participant

    @GivingupBA.
    I don’t think the politicians have considered the M23/M25 aspect either. I wrote to Henry Smith MP for Gatwick and Crawley about this but didn’t get the courtesy of a reply.
    If Gatwick gets the second runway then they must contribute to the costs of upgrading the surrounding roads.


    alainboy56
    Participant

    To all of you fellow contributors here — it is obvious that none of your are politicians here. Otherwise you would not use analysis, intelligence, forethought, and vision to summarize an obvious disaster in the making. What do you expect from these people? Miracles? Well lo and behold after years and years and years of analysis (cowardice and political shenanigins) they have plumped for LHR, when to any normal intelligent traveler (all of you out there), this was the obvious answer anyway. Now all we have done is just wasted 10 years!


    openfly
    Participant

    @alainboy56 One has to ask what relevance your comment has to this thread!


    alainboy56
    Participant

    @openfly — well I did think it was very succinct and to the point and very much relevant to the above comments by fellow contributors. They have been commenting on how bad the rail/road links are, and what if LGW were to win the 3rd runway. I merely started with a small joke against UK politicians, and continued, assuming and appreciating that we are all intelligent and experienced travelers and have known, as I just explained, that LGW was a non-starter from the beginning.

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