Last two trains cancelled tonight from Gatwick to Brighton

[Bungaroosh]

My flight into Gatwick tonight is delayed by an hour and the last two trains to Brighton are showing as cancelled:

dep -- arr
00:49 -- 01:16
01:58 -- 02:28

Gatwick Airport to Brighton, arriving at 02:28 on 30/06/2023 - Accessible UK Train Timetables

traintimes.org.uk

Short of paying for the National Express at 2am, might I expect Thameslink to lay on a taxi? I'll try enquiring with staff if there are any on the station concourse, but I wonder if anyone has experience of this sort of situation.

Many thanks.

 

[Haywain]

My flight into Gatwick tonight is delayed by an hour and the last two trains to Brighton are showing as cancelled:

dep -- arr
00:49 -- 01:16
01:58 -- 02:28

Gatwick Airport to Brighton, arriving at 02:28 on 30/06/2023 - Accessible UK Train Timetables

traintimes.org.uk

Short of paying for the National Express at 2am, might I expect Thameslink to lay on a taxi? I'll try enquiring with staff if there are any on the station concourse, but I wonder if anyone has experience of this sort of situation.

Many thanks.

Do you already have a ticket?

 

[Bungaroosh]

Do you already have a ticket?

Yep!
Two Anytime Day Singles (any permitted route) with a Two Together railcard. And a travelling companion.

 

[Haywain]

Both trains appear to have been rescheduled to run to Three Bridges (0049)/Haywards Heath (0158) with onward bus replacement to Brighton. This is shown if you click on 'Alternative Trains' at the link you provided.

 

[Watershed]

Good luck getting any member of station staff to book you a taxi! I found myself in a similar situation at Gatwick recently and the station staff flatly refused to book a taxi, saying they had been instructed to tell people to wait until the next train, several hours later. There is nowhere to sit in the new ticket hall - the notion that people might have to wait for a train evidently being overlooked in the redesign.

You may well have to book your own taxi, which could be a job and a half in its own right - I'd advise getting onto the taxi apps ASAP as it may take time for a driver to accept your job, and then reclaim the cost from GTR afterwards.

 

[Bungaroosh]

Both trains appear to have been rescheduled to run to Three Bridges (0049)/Haywards Heath (0158) with onward bus replacement to Brighton. This is shown if you click on 'Alternative Trains' at the link you provided.

Ah, thank you. Didn't think to click on that.

The fabled Rail Replacement Bus it is, then.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Ah, thank you. Didn't think to click on that.

The fabled Rail Replacement Bus it is, then.

Is your ticket not valid for the 0044 Southern Service, or do you think the 5 minutes to make the 0049 is 5 minutes you definitely need?
That gets into Brighton at 0116

 

[Bungaroosh]

Is your ticket not valid for the 0044 Southern Service, or do you think the 5 minutes to make the 0049 is 5 minutes you definitely need?
That gets into Brighton at 0116

Yes, if I catch it, which seems doubtful currently!
(Although that is showing currently as 21 minutes late, which, if it runs all the way to Brighton, would be preferable to the dreaded bus. And I might have a chance of catching it).

 

[yorkie]

Is your ticket not valid for the 0044 Southern Service, or do you think the 5 minutes to make the 0049 is 5 minutes you definitely need?
That gets into Brighton at 0116

If their flight arrives in time for that, yes. But it's difficult to predict actual arrival times, and then allow for potential queues at passport control, and the distance from the gate is highly variable. These things all add up!

 

[pokemonsuper9]

But it's difficult to predict actual arrival times, and then allow for potential queues at passport control, and the distance from the gate is highly variable. These things all add up!

Oh absolutely.
I don't travel by plane much but the one time I did there were certainly a number of queues.
Any queue is a chance for loads of time to be saved or delay to be added.

 

[Bungaroosh]

If their flight arrives in time for that, yes. But it's difficult to predict actual arrival times, and then allow for potential queues at passport control, and the distance from the gate is highly variable. These things all add up!

Yep, plus I've got a checked-in bag, plus I've got to get from the North Terminal to the train station at the South Terminal. Fingers crossed!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Jun 2023 ==

Good luck getting any member of station staff to book you a taxi! I found myself in a similar situation at Gatwick recently and the station staff flatly refused to book a taxi, saying they had been instructed to tell people to wait until the next train, several hours later. There is nowhere to sit in the new ticket hall - the notion that people might have to wait for a train evidently being overlooked in the redesign.

You may well have to book your own taxi, which could be a job and a half in its own right - I'd advise getting onto the taxi apps ASAP as it may take time for a driver to accept your job, and then reclaim the cost from GTR afterwards.

Cripes. Did you manage to get them to refund you for a taxi in your situation?

 

[yorkie]

Which flight are you on?

In your case, a taxi isn't applicable as there will be a service provided, but earlier this week, GTR were not prepared to offer any alternative at 0150 when the next train wasn't until 0346. They were also up to the usual tricks in pretending to be two separate companies, to deflect the blame.

 

[Bungaroosh]

Which flight are you on?

In your case, a taxi isn't applicable as there will be a service provided, but earlier this week, GTR were not prepared to offer any alternative at 0150 when the next train wasn't until 0346. They were also up to the usual tricks in pretending to be two separate companies, to deflect the blame.

U28116 from Alicante to London https://fr24.com/EZY58NR/30ee3756

 

[pokemonsuper9]

U28116 from Alicante to London https://fr24.com/EZY58NR/30ee3756

Well it's certainly not looking good for making the 0044, I don't think you can
- Taxi to gate
- De-board
- Baggage Claim
- Passport Control
- Get on the cool terminal connecting metro thingey they seem to have.
- Reach platform 3
in 4 (and whatever it changes to) minutes

 

[boiledbeans2]

The fabled Rail Replacement Bus it is, then.

I thought that was a real book in the Ladybird for Grown-Up series*! I Googled it and it turned out to only be a card.

*For those that don't know, it's a set of sarcastic books published by Ladybird, with book titles like 'The Wife', 'The Husband', 'Brexit', 'Dating', etc.

 

[Bungaroosh]

Sitting in the south terminal car hire place waiting for the National Express coach ... :/

 

[gray1404]

Sitting in the south terminal car hire place waiting for the National Express coach ... :/

I think there is more of a possibility that GTR may actually reimburse you for the cost of the coach along with delay repay for the full cost of the tickets.

 

[Haywain]

I think there is more of a possibility that GTR may actually reimburse you for the cost of the coach along with delay repay for the full cost of the tickets.

Does DR apply when someone is too late for a train? The 0158 ran, leaving Gatwick at 0205.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Does DR apply when someone is too late for a train? The 0158 ran, leaving Gatwick at 0205.

Since they sent the message saying they were waiting for their coach in the South Terminal's area (which is directly next to the train station) at 0151, they were not too late for their train, but seem to have chosen not to take it, preferring the National Express journey to having to deal with getting off the train in Haywards Heath at 0219 and making their way to whatever rail replacement is (or isn't) provided.

 

[Haywain]

Since they sent the message saying they were waiting for their coach in the South Terminal's area (which is directly next to the train station) at 0151, they were not too late for their train, but seem to have chosen not to take it, preferring the National Express journey to having to deal with getting off the train in Haywards Heath at 0219 and making their way to whatever rail replacement is (or isn't) provided.

Fair comment, but still difficult to see how there could be a claim for delay compensation.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Fair comment, but still difficult to see how there could be a claim for delay compensation.

Oh definitely, I was providing more reason as to why delay repay is not valid.

 

[Bungaroosh]

When I saw that the two final trains of the day were showing as cancelled (but before I had seen the possible rail replacement bus), I bought the National Express tickets as I didn't want to be stuck at Gatwick for hour or face a hugely expensive taxi fare. I had little faith that the rail replacement bus would run from Three Bridges, or Haywards Heath, or wherever (on a short-notice late-night engineering scheduling amendment), and the departure boards on the concourse at Gatwick station were showing the 01:58 as cancelled anyway.

@pokemonsuper9 is also correct that at that point, it was less grief just to sit on one comfortable coach than faff about transferring onto a possibly non-existent rail replacement bus.

Delay Repay has been confirmed as paying out the full amount of both tickets, however, so we're not out of pocket for the coach fares.

 

[Wallsendmag]

When I saw that the two final trains of the day were showing as cancelled (but before I had seen the possible rail replacement bus), I bought the National Express tickets as I didn't want to be stuck at Gatwick for hour or face a hugely expensive taxi fare. I had little faith that the rail replacement bus would run from Three Bridges, or Haywards Heath, or wherever (on a short-notice late-night engineering scheduling amendment), and the departure boards on the concourse at Gatwick station were showing the 01:58 as cancelled anyway.

@pokemonsuper9 is also correct that at that point, it was less grief just to sit on one comfortable coach than faff about transferring onto a possibly non-existent rail replacement bus.

Delay Repay has been confirmed as paying out the full amount of both tickets, however, so we're not out of pocket for the coach fares.

You shouldn't apply for Delay Repay if you didn't travel , you should have applied for a refund.