NETWORK Rail is putting forward five options to restore direct rail services between Kent and Gatwick Airport, around 20 years after such trains disappeared from timetables.
The simplest option would extend hourly Tonbridge-Redhill services the extra four miles along the Brighton Main Line to the international airport. NR says this is “credible and appropriate to take forward for further work”.
At the other end of the scale, it suggests running trains from Gatwick through Tonbridge and on to Maidstone West, which was the destination of the trains withdrawn in 2003.
Changes in 2008 axed Tunbridge Wells-Horsham trains which also directly served the airport. Since then, Kent passengers have been forced to change trains to reach Gatwick.
Rather than Maidstone West, Network Rail thinks there is a stronger case to serve Ashford.
However, all its proposals (which grow incrementally from the basic extension up to the Ashford/ Maidstone suggestion) will need more subsidy because they don’t cover their costs in crews or rolling stock.
In a report compiled last year but published in March 2024, NR’s Southern Region strategic planning team says: “Most passengers will choose a ‘one seat ride’ over an equivalent or even slightly faster journey involving one or more transfers, especially for passengers travelling to or from airports who may have baggage, making transfers even less convenient.
“This makes airport passengers particularly sensitive to changing trains and likely explains why Kent’s rail demand for Gatwick is so much lower than other comparable stations - especially as routing via Redhill would require at least two changes.”
The report also notes: “From a cross-regional connectivity perspective, getting between Gatwick and Kent is often easiest, quickest and cheapest by car, not train. Not only do cars offer unparalleled convenience, security and comfort, they are also much quicker and, for infrequent trips with multiple passengers usually cheaper than by train.”
It concludes: “There is a market for travel between Kent and Gatwick, but the current rail offer is not attractive.
