From Gatwick you can reach Cambridge in 1 hour 53 minutes, Bedford in 1 hour 48 minutes, Reading in 1 hour 28 minutes and Portsmouth in 1 hour 28 minutes without changing trains. Thameslink runs straight through London to the north, Great Western runs west across Surrey to Reading, and Southern runs south and west along the coast, so a passenger heading beyond London rarely needs the Gatwick Express or a change in the centre.
Most visitors leave Gatwick for central London, and that trip has a page of its own. This page is for everyone else: the student heading to Cambridge, the family staying near Reading, the traveller whose next stop is St Albans, Luton Airport or the south coast. Each of these places has a direct train from the airport station, and the direct train is usually both faster and cheaper than going via Victoria.
All trains leave from the station under the South Terminal, and arriving at the North Terminal means the free two-minute shuttle first. Our page on arriving at Gatwick follows the route from the aircraft to the platform.
Direct from Gatwick, at a glance
- North, through London
- Thameslink: St Albans, Luton Airport Parkway, Stevenage, Bedford, Cambridge, Peterborough
- West, avoiding London
- Great Western Railway: Redhill, Guildford, Reading
- South and the coast
- Southern and Thameslink: Brighton, Eastbourne, Worthing, Portsmouth
- Tickets
- Pay as you go covers the airport to London only. For the direct trains beyond London, buy a rail ticket
- Fares checked
- National Rail journey planner, 9 November 2026
Every direct route, with times and fares
We read these times and fares on National Rail's journey planner on 9 November 2026, for one adult leaving Gatwick from about 10:00 on Wednesday 25 November 2026. Each fare is the lowest the planner showed for the fastest direct train; Advance fares are tied to that train, and the walk-up fare is the flexible price where the planner showed one.
| Destination | Operator | Fastest direct | Direct trains in that hour | Cheapest single |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Albans City | Thameslink | 1 hour 5 minutes | 4 (2 fast) | £14.50 Advance |
| Luton Airport Parkway | Thameslink | 1 hour 17 minutes | 4 (2 fast) | £15.10 Advance, plus the DART |
| Stevenage | Thameslink | 1 hour 12 minutes | 4 (2 fast) | £15.10 Advance |
| Bedford | Thameslink | 1 hour 48 minutes | 4 (2 fast) | £16.50 Advance; £40.10 Off-Peak Day Single |
| Cambridge | Thameslink | 1 hour 53 minutes | 2 | £19.20 Advance; £45.10 Anytime Day Single |
| Peterborough | Thameslink | 2 hours 17 minutes | 1 | £31.30 Advance |
| Guildford | Great Western Railway | 42 minutes | 2 | £12.50 Advance |
| Reading | Great Western Railway | 1 hour 28 minutes | 2 | £24.50 Advance |
| Eastbourne | Southern | 51 minutes | 2 | £8 to £12.50 Advance; £21.10 Off-Peak Day Single |
| Worthing | Southern | 49 minutes | 2 | £10 to £12.50 Advance |
| Portsmouth & Southsea | Southern | 1 hour 28 minutes | 2 | £10 to £15 Advance |
Treat the fares as a snapshot. Thameslink's Advance prices were the same the day before travel on the routes we rechecked, but Advance fares elsewhere rise as seats sell, and evening and weekend patterns differ. Brighton, the busiest of all, has its own page: Gatwick to Brighton covers the 26-minute and 39-minute trains and the fares.
Thameslink north: one seat from the runway to Cambridge
Thameslink trains from Gatwick run north through London Bridge, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon and St Pancras without stopping long anywhere, then out into Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. That is the whole trick: the train you board at the airport is the same train that arrives in Cambridge or Bedford. Our explainer on how Thameslink works covers the trains and the central stations.
On our sample hour there were two direct trains to Cambridge, at 16 and 46 minutes past, each taking 1 hour 53 minutes, and one to Peterborough taking 2 hours 17 minutes. Bedford had four trains, two fast at 1 hour 48 minutes and two slower at 2 hours 7 minutes, which tells you to check which one you are on. St Albans is little more than an hour, close enough that a day in St Albans works from a Gatwick hotel.
Peterborough is the one place where changing in London wins. The direct Thameslink train took 2 hours 17 minutes, while the planner's routes changing in London onto LNER reached Peterborough in 1 hour 57 to 1 hour 59 minutes, from £25.70 Advance, against £31.30 for the direct train. If you have luggage, the extra twenty minutes in one seat may still be worth it.
Luton Airport Parkway: an airport-to-airport train
The same Thameslink trains call at Luton Airport Parkway, 1 hour 17 minutes from Gatwick on the faster services. From there the DART shuttle carries you to the terminal in about four minutes. Book your rail ticket to the station called "Luton Airport" and the DART is included; a ticket that ends at Parkway leaves the shuttle to pay separately. For timings with a flight to catch, connecting between London's airports sets the train against the coach.
Great Western west: Guildford and Reading without London
The least known of Gatwick's railways runs west. Great Western Railway trains leave the airport twice an hour, call at Redhill and cross the North Downs to Guildford, 42 to 46 minutes away, and Reading, 1 hour 28 minutes. They never touch London. For anyone staying in Surrey or Berkshire, or travelling on to Oxford or the west from Reading, this is the train.
The comparison with London is clear. On our sample hour, the alternatives the planner offered to Reading via London took 1 hour 37 to 1 hour 40 minutes with two changes. The cheapest of them was £22 off-peak, paid by contactless, because pay as you go reaches Reading through London. The direct train was quicker and, at £24.50 Advance, barely dearer, with no change in a crowded London station with suitcases.
If you are heading for Heathrow instead of Reading, the airport-to-airport coach is usually simpler; our Heathrow-Gatwick transfer page weighs every option.
Southern south and west: the coast without Brighton
Southern runs direct trains from Gatwick to much of the Sussex and Hampshire coast. Eastbourne was 51 to 55 minutes away, Worthing 49 minutes and Portsmouth & Southsea 1 hour 28 to 1 hour 37 minutes, each about every half hour on our sample morning. Southern's Advance fares on these routes were low, £8 to £15, and some cheaper trains on the same routes involved a change, so check that the one you book is direct.
These trains open up several of our day trips from an airport base: Eastbourne and Beachy Head, Portsmouth and its Historic Dockyard and Lewes and Arundel. For a family landing at Gatwick for a seaside week, there is no reason to go into London at all.
East Croydon, the interchange fifteen minutes up the line
East Croydon is about 15 minutes from Gatwick on the frequent fast trains, and almost every northbound train stops there. It is the place to change for the London Trams network, which reaches Wimbledon, Beckenham and New Addington, and for Southern and Thameslink trains that do not call at the airport. Because East Croydon is inside the London fare area, a contactless card works for the journey from Gatwick. Our page on the Croydon trams explains where they go.
When these trains beat the Gatwick Express
The Gatwick Express runs only to Victoria. For any of the places on this page, taking it means a change at Victoria and a crossing of London, and on our sample hour the route to Cambridge that changed in London took 2 hours 16 minutes against 1 hour 53 minutes direct. The Express wins only when Victoria itself is your destination, and even then the comparison in Gatwick Express, Thameslink or Southern usually favours the cheaper trains.
Two things to watch on the through trains. Thameslink trains are commuter trains with limited luggage space, and they fill up through central London at rush hour, so a large suitcase between 07:00 and 09:30 or 16:30 and 19:00 is a problem in either direction. And engineering work on the line through London happens mostly at weekends; check the planner for the day you travel rather than assuming the through train runs.
Buying the right ticket
Tapping a bank card or Oyster at the barrier only works as far as the edge of the London fare area, which takes in East Croydon but stops well short of the places on this page. For Cambridge, Bedford, Peterborough, Guildford and the coast, buy a National Rail ticket before you travel. Reading is the odd one out: the planner offered a contactless fare only on the routes via London, so for the direct train buy a ticket too. The machines in the station sell them, but an Advance ticket bought online even on the day is often far cheaper than the walk-up fare: £19.20 against £45.10 to Cambridge on our sample train.
Advance fares hold good on one named train, which is a risk if your flight is late. National Rail's terms say a missed booked train means a new ticket, so either book a train with a margin of two hours after landing, or change the booking before it departs. Our guide to buying UK train tickets explains Advance and Off-Peak fares, and flying into Manchester or Birmingham instead deals with the same trap from the other direction.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a direct train from Gatwick to Cambridge?
Yes. Thameslink runs direct trains from Gatwick Airport to Cambridge, twice an hour on the weekday morning we checked, taking 1 hour 53 minutes. You stay in the same seat through London. The cheapest Advance single we found was £19.20.
Can I get a train from Gatwick to Reading without going through London?
Yes. Great Western Railway runs direct trains from Gatwick to Reading via Redhill and Guildford, about twice an hour, in 1 hour 28 minutes. They do not go into London at all, and on our sample day they were faster than every route via London.
Can I use contactless from Gatwick to Cambridge or Bedford?
No. Pay as you go stops at the edge of London, so it does not cover Cambridge, Bedford, Peterborough or the coast. Buy a rail ticket before you board; an Advance ticket online is usually much cheaper than buying at the machine.
Do trains from Gatwick to Luton Airport run direct?
Yes. Thameslink trains run direct from Gatwick to Luton Airport Parkway in about 1 hour 17 minutes on the faster services. From Parkway, the DART shuttle reaches the terminal in about four minutes; buy a ticket to "Luton Airport" to include it.
Sources
- National Rail Enquiries - times and fares, Gatwick Airport to Cambridge (checked November 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - times and fares, Gatwick Airport to Bedford (checked November 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - times and fares, Gatwick Airport to Peterborough (checked November 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - times and fares, Gatwick Airport to Reading (checked November 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - times and fares, Gatwick Airport to Portsmouth & Southsea (checked November 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - times and fares, Gatwick Airport to Eastbourne (checked November 2026)
- London Gatwick - Travelling by train (checked November 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - Advance tickets terms and conditions (checked November 2026)