enviroian

I'm flying into LGW from LAS in a week. I haven't flown into that airport from the US since 1998. I remember taking a slow train into Victoria and then a slow train out to Ashford international. I guess my question is how to I get to St Pancras/Kings Cross from LGW? Is it a painful process?

Mwenenzi

Slow train = less cost
Fast train = more cost

London Airports transfer FAQ: London Gatwick (LGW)

Probably not the best web site, but https://www.thetrainline.com/train-t...-international

Ldnn1

That’s not actually correct as regards LGW to St Pancras. Ordinarily on this route, both the simplest and quickest way is also the cheapest - the direct Thameslink service. You want a Bedford (or Cambridge) fast train - these run approx every 15minutes from LGW during normal times, though less at weekends or at night - you always need to check.

The alternative, via Victoria and then the tube, can be quick but is a lot more faff and if you take the Gatwick Express rather than the Southern service, costs a fortune. Stick with the Thameslink route if it’s running.

:D!

The journey is Gatwick to Ashford, not Gatwick to St Pancras.

The cheapest route is Gatwick-Redhill-Tonbridge-Ashford Int'l. This costs £16.50 single (via Edenbridge ticket), but assuming Ian is taking BA2276 LAS-LGW, Redhill to Tonbridge only runs every hour from 10am to 3pm weekdays, thus may have to wait at Gatwick with more things to do than the waiting room at Redhill (or explore the delights of Redhill town centre...) Total journey time is just under 2 hours, with cross-platform interchange at Redhill.

Going via St Pancras is more expensive, even if you get an advance ticket for HS1 once you factor in the Thameslink price, and this is not be the best idea in case of flight delays and Thameslink delays. If everything runs on time the journey is only about 15-20 minutes quicker than via Edenbridge, but you have a more convoluted walk up from the underground Thameslink platforms to the high level High Speed 1 platforms.

There is an alternative route where you change from the Thameslink to Southeastern at London Bridge, this takes the same amount of time as going via Edenbridge but is slightly simpler having 1 change via escalators instead of 2, but requires separate tickets to avoid paying for HS1.

stut

You can avoid London entirely, by changing at Redhill and Tonbridge. Despite the two changes, it's pretty much a straight line, so the fastest of all options.

Mizter T

Indeed.

See the London & the South East rail map (PDF).

Gatwick is in square G6 - Redhill in square G5 - Tonbridge in square H5 - Ashford International in square J5/J6.

Because this non-London route is marginally slower, it won't show up in journey planners unless you put in an appropriate via point - so add in via Edenbridge and it will appear (example - journeys on Monday 23 Dec '19).

(Also, make sure you plan a journey to "Ashford International", which is the major station in Kent, rather than "Ashford (Surrey)", which is a smaller station actually not too far from Heathrow airport... and lest the pedants pounce on me, actually used to be in the county of Middlesex rather than Surrey, but Middlesex doesn't really exist any more... except of course where it still does ...)

enviroian

Thanks for all the tips. Wow what a confusing trip! Yes I’m coming in on BA 2776 and I’ll be arriving on Christmas Eve.

enviroian

using southeasternrailway.com it shows a single for 17.20 pounds with two stops. Gatwick------> Redhill----->Tonbridge------->Ashford Int'l. Looks like total journey time is 1 hour 31 minutes.

I normally wouldn't ask my mom to pick me up but I did this time and she said "I'm sorry I have a pickup slot at Waitrose when you arrive and I don't want to fiddle with it!". LOL

:D!

You don't need the £17.20 ticket as you aren't going to start the rail journey before 9am, unless you arrive ridiculously ahead of schedule. Only the journey starting at 0802 is 1h31m.

As I said, the price is £16.50, which can be used at any time after 9am. If lucky you might make the 0902 to Redhill, and this journey takes 1h39m, then it's every xx:33 for the next few hours taking 1h57m. You don't have to buy this in advance but you can.

enviroian

Thanks for the info. If the journey on your suggested route takes a whopping 1hr39m to just Redhill that doesn't sound like a remotely reasonable option.

UKtravelbear

the 1hr 39 mins is for the whole trip to Ashford not just to Redhill!

Mizter T

As UKtravelbear says, 1hr39 is for the whole journey! From Gatwick to Redhill by rail is a distance of around 7 miles, and it takes 14 minutes for a stopping train to cover it, calling at three stations en route.

If and when you buy a ticket for this journey, do state the route you intend on taking - this means you'll be able to benefit from the cheaper £16.50 fare because you are avoiding travelling via London (the ticket will have 'via Edenbridge' printed on it in the 'Route' field). No financial benefit of buying ahead of travel, no need to specifiy a particular journey either.

:D!

Well, it looks like you'll have to go via London after all because there was a landslip near Godstone which has caused Network Rail to close the train line.

https://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...dhill-landslip

There will be replacement buses if you fancy something different, but if you just want to get there quickly you either change at London Bridge for the slower train, or go to St Pancras for the High Speed train, both of which have comparable overall travel times.