Southern Rail plans to scrap direct trains to Gatwick Airport

Southern Rail has announced proposals to change its West Coastway timetable, which would affect passengers travelling between Southampton and Gatwick Airport. Under the new plans, direct trains from Southampton Central to London’s second-biggest airport would be axed, and passengers would have to change at Barnham.

The operator says this would improve reliability and capacity on both routes, and reduce journey times on the Southampton to Brighton service.

The changes are part of a consultation that is open until 6 November 2023, and can be found on Southern Railway’s website¹. If approved, the new timetable would come into effect from May 2024. Other changes include extending London to Portsmouth services to Portsmouth Harbour, and introducing a new half-hourly Brighton to Chichester service via Littlehampton.

Southern Rail says the plans build on its redesign of the East Coastway timetable, which aims to meet passenger demand and provide more evenly spaced departure times. Jenny Saunders, Govia Thameslink Railway’s Customer Service Director, said: “We’re confident that the reliability and capacity improvements these proposals are designed to achieve would benefit passengers on local and longer-distance journeys across the West Coastway. It’s now important that we hear the views of the public so we can make sure these proposals improve services for our passengers.”