For many people, one of the joys of Guildford as a town is the proximity to London. As well as being able to work in the capital, residents can also make use of the numerous different travel options that are provided by London, which includes being able to fly out of the country via the likes of Gatwick, Heathrow and London City Airport.
In the case of the former, holidaymakers will be able to get there much quicker, on account of a trial that is being held by Great Western Railway that will result in overnight services being run. Although only a trial, it is suggestive of a long-term change that GWR could introduce if it’s seen as a success.
What Is Happening
Owing to popular demand, Great Western Railway, which is the company that operates the line between areas such as Guildford and Gatwick Airport, has decided to put an overnight service in place from the sixth of June. The 12-week trial will look at the popularity of late-night and early-morning services on the line between Reading and Gatwick, stopping at the following locations:
- Reading
- Wokingham
- Blackwater
- North Camp
- Guildford
- Shalford
- Chilworth
- Gomshall
- Dorking Deepdene
- Reigate
- Redhill
- Gatwick Airport
At the moment, the trains on that route only operate between 04:30 and 23:30, meaning that anyone who has a late departure or who lands back in the country late at night will not be able to get the train home, which is obviously far from ideal. The fact that that accounts for around 20% of Gatwick’s daily traffic means that many have been crying out for GWR to operate a route later at night and earlier in the morning. Now, those people are going to get their wish, with the train provider looking to find out what the actual demand for such routes actually is.
Testing Demand
Although there are many who say that they would like Great Western Railway to operate more trains on the route, the actual number of passengers that will take advantage of the overnight trains isn’t known. As a result, GWR is introducing this new timetable as a test in order to discover the exact demand for it.
Mark Hopwood, the Managing Director of Great Western Railway, referred to it as a chance to ‘gather real-world data’ regarding the way in which passengers will use the services. The business is working alongside London Gatwick to bring the overnight services into regular rotation for the three-month period. Hopwood said,
Improving sustainable connectivity to airports is important to support the growth in air travel and we’re pleased to work with Gatwick Airport and Network Rail to explore what’s possible. The trial will help us understand whether overnight services can work operationally and commercially on this route. We’ll monitor performance closely and will review feedback before considering options to improve services in the future.
Jonathan Pollard, the Chief Commercial Officer of London Gatwick, also made the point that staff working at the airport will now find it easier to make it in for their shift or head home afterwards.
The Trial’s Timing
The trial of the new times is due to begin on the sixth of June, achieving what Pollard referred to as “Strengthening sustainable, reliable public transport links is vital as our route network grows and this trial represents a significant step in improving choice and convenience for our passengers across the region.” Speaking on behalf of Network Rail, the Infrastructure Director, Tom McNamee, said,
Over the past four years, Network Rail has invested £50 million into improving the signalling on the North Downs Line. This signalling upgrade, modernising and improving safety on this important stretch of line, will now also benefit Great Western Railway’s next steps towards introducing night-time services.
In terms of when the trains will run, exactly, it depends entirely on the days that you wish to travel. On Saturdays, trains will depart Reading for Gatwick Airport at 02.28 and 03.30 in addition to the current timetable, whilst the reverse journey will depart Gatwick at 00.30, 01.24 and 04.00. On Mondays, the additional Reading departure will set off at 03.24, with the Gatwick departures being at 00.24 and 04.00. McNamee said,
By having these services running through the night, we can better serve the Gatwick Airport community with a more sustainable way to access London’s second busiest airport.