Originally Posted by
dingo
1. Can I buy tickets on board the train for the same cost as buying them at a counter?
NO! You can be fined if you do this. There are plenty ticket machines at Gatwick, all of which take credit cards, but they've been annoyingly set up to direct you towards the more expensive Gatwick Express fares. You have to manually enter London as your destination, then scroll down for the cheap Southern fares.
2. Can I buy return tickets on board the train with a return date of two days after my outbound?
Depends where to. To London, no. Further afield, yes.
3. Are there different ticket options, with different costs?
Oh yes, plenty. The £10.90 fare you mentioned above is only available after the morning rush hour - any earlier, and you'll pay more. This is an 'Off Peak Day Single'. You'll also see 'One Day Travelcard' as an option - this includes a day of unlimited use of public transport in the whole of Greater London. Then there's special fares for groups of 3 or 4 (only on Day Return tickets, which are almost the same price as Day Single), and a whole other host of fares you probably don't need to worry about...
4. What tracks do the trains depart from at Gatwick?
Pretty much any of them. You'll have to look at the departure boards at the station, as they're not set in stone. Note that they're referred to by 'Platform' in the UK, not tracks.
5. At what times do the trains depart from Gatwick?
There's enough of them to treat it as a 'turn up and go' service. It's not regularly spaced, as the trains are coming from many different places in the South of England.
6. What tracks do the trains depart from Victoria?
Victoria is split in three. The lowest platform numbers belong to Southeastern. Then there's a gap in the station, then the Southern suburban platforms, the Gatwick Express platforms, then the highest ones, set further back, are the Southern long-distance platforms. You'll definitely be going from the Southern end (right hand side as you enter from the main entrance), most probably from the long-distance platforms. But it's not set in stone, so you'll need to check the departure boards.
7. At what times do the trains depart from Victoria?
As before, enough to be turn up and go - check the departure boards.
8. Do different trains stop at more stations and, therefore, take longer to get from A to B?
Yes, and some may be overtaken, some may not. The fast trains generally just stop at East Croydon and Clapham Junction, whereas the slowest have a whole host of others. There's a few inbetween. Most are fast, as the slower trains branch off this route around Croydon, and don't make it to Gatwick.
I know that is a ton of questions. I've looked at their
website but just can't find this information...I am sure it's right there in front of me but I'm missing it.
Your best bet is to put your expected time of travel into
http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/ and see what kind of train and fare options you're presented with.