London Gatwick is expanding its overnight public transport connections for summer 2026, introducing new rail services and an additional bus route to give passengers and airport workers more options for reaching early morning departures.
Two overnight rail trials are running this summer. GTR will operate additional Gatwick Express trains between London Victoria and the airport on Saturdays and Mondays from July 18 to September 7, with departures from Victoria at 03:40 and from Gatwick at 04:35. Great Western Railway is running overnight services between Gatwick and Reading on Saturdays and Mondays from June 6 to September 12, improving connections across the Thames Valley.
A new Metrobus 500 service to Eastbourne has also launched, providing fresh links between the airport and communities in East Sussex. The addition brings the total number of 24/7 bus routes serving the airport to eight. Gatwick also part-funds several other Metrobus routes and is served by 14 long-distance coach services running around the clock to destinations including Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, and Swansea.
The improvements are supported by London Gatwick’s Sustainable Travel Fund, part of its Decade of Change sustainability strategy, which targets 52 percent of passenger journeys to and from the airport being made by public transport by 2030.
“With many flights departing early in the morning during the summer peak, having reliable public transport throughout the night is crucial,” said Hannah Godfrey, Senior Surface Access Manager at London Gatwick.
