This contains updates on:
- Train times changing on the GTR network from 2 June
- Redhill to Tonbridge line reopened following landslip repairs
- New customer information display helping arrivals at Gatwick Airport
Train times changing on the GTR network from 2 June
There will be changes to some train times and destinations on the GTR network from 2 June as the new Summer timetable is introduced.
Journey planners, such as www.nationalrail.co.uk, have already been updated with the new train times so customers can plan their journeys.
The most significant changes will be to Southern services on the West Coastway, the route between Brighton, Portsmouth and Southampton and towards London.
The changes have been designed to make journeys easier, more convenient, and attractive for customers and will see more trains run in the busy section between Chichester, Worthing and Brighton and a boost for regional connectivity, with improved links from Brighton to Littlehampton or Southampton and from Portsmouth to London.
The new timetable includes changes made following the feedback GTR received last year from local customers and stakeholders on draft proposals, and you can read more about the new timetable for the West Coastway here: www.southernrailway.com/westcoastway
Elsewhere on the Southern network, there will be changes to West London Line services, the route between East Croydon and Watford Junction. This will see Sunday services between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction stop additionally at Wembley Central.
However, following a joint review with Network Rail, weekday services will run between East Croydon and Watford Junction only, with Hemel Hempstead no longer being served by the limited Southern service as at present. You can find out more about why this change is being made here.
For Great Northern, the only change will see two additional fast services run between Peterborough and London Kings Cross, which will call at Huntingdon, St Neots, Biggleswade and Stevenage.
They will be formed of an extra service in the morning, leaving Peterborough at 06:35, and an extra return service in the evening peak, departing London Kings Cross at 17:42.
The only change for Thameslink services will be minor timing changes for some trains between Luton and Rainham. This is part of a wider change in partnership with Southeastern to shorten the intervals between trains in the Greenwich and Woolwich area.
As ever, if you would like to discuss anything about the timetable changes and our services then please do get in touch with GTR at: GTRPublicAffairs@gtrailway.com
Redhill to Tonbridge line reopened following landslip repairs
The line between Redhill and Tonbridge reopened on Monday 15 April after a two week closure while Network Rail repaired an embankment in the Edenbridge area.
Over the two weeks, engineers installed 91 sheet piles, which are 8m long sheets of metal, at the base of the embankment and installed 132 soil nails, long steel rods, into the side of the embankment to help underpin the track bed itself.
This work stabilised and strengthened the embankment which had become saturated and weakened after a very wet winter and start to spring, which had damaged the track bed and rails, preventing trains from running safely.
While the line was closed, Network Rail also took the opportunity of having the extra access to the tracks to carry out some additional maintenance, repairing some pre-existing but more minor faults elsewhere on the line.
While buses replaced trains over the two weeks to enable customers to complete their journeys, GTR are very sorry for the disruption and inconvenience the closure of this line caused and were grateful for their patience.
New customer information display helping arrivals at Gatwick Airport
A new information display wall is now up and running at Gatwick Airport, helping customers arriving from their flights with their onward journeys.
The new large display, which was previously an unused blank white wall, is designed to be easy for customers to understand and to grab their attention with bright and dynamic displays.
The new display will give customers the key information they will need for their journey, such as showing them the type of trains, destinations and stops of Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink services heading into London, or show them how they can pay for their journey with contactless cards or via the ticket machines.
It will help offer clear guidance for customers arriving through the airport and help them to navigate the station and the GTR network so they can find the train they need to complete their journey.