Gatwick Express has unveiled its timetable for the Christmas and New Year period.

Christmas Eve
For Christmas Eve, a normal service will operate, however, watch out as the last trains will depart earlier than usual:

• Victoria – last train will leave London Victoria at 20:30
• Gatwick Airport – last train departs at 21:20

Christmas Day
No trains – a special coach service will operate half hourly.

• Victoria – coaches start at 06:30 until 16:30, last service will depart 16:45
• Gatwick Airport – coach services start at 06:30 operating every 30 minutes until 16:30

Boxing Day – 26th December 2011
A half-hourly service will operate

27 – 30 December 2011
A normal timetable will operate with the exception of the following trains:

• 03:30 and 04:30 from London
• 04:35 and 05:20 from Gatwick

New Year’s Eve
A half-hourly service will operate on 31 December 2011

New Year’s Day
A half-hourly service will operate on 1 January 2012

From today, 12 December 2011, passengers wishing to travel on the Gatwick Express service will be unable to purchase tickets onboard trains.

The ticket changes coincide with the testing of new ticket gates, which have been installed at Gatwick Airport station and London Victoria station.

The ticket gates will be manned by Gatwick Express Customer Service Hosts, who will also sell tickets – tickets can also be purchased online, or at ticket offices or ticket machines. An additional eight ticket machines have been installed at both Gatwick and Victoria stations.

The new ticket gates will be fully operational by 31 December 2012.

Gatwick Express staff who are members of the rail union RMT are to be balloted for strike action.

The response from the union is due to increased automation at the gate line at Victoria and Gatwick stations that, according to the union, will have a detrimental impact on services and threaten jobs.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “Yet again this trade union is forced to ballot our members for action because a train operating company is threatening jobs in order to fatten up profits.

“Go-Ahead – which co-owns the Southern franchise – recorded an increase in rail profits of nearly 30% earlier this month raking off £48 million from the railways. They will also be looking forward to a whacking great increase in fares in January while slashing customer service by threatening to dump on-train staff through these automation proposals.

“With this week’s shocking rise in the unemployment figures, of course we will be doing all that we can within our power to defend our members jobs on Gatwick Express.”

Gatwick Express is offering 10% discount to passengers booking their tickets online.

This is a time-limited offer – the discount is available until midnight on 8 April 2010. Tickets must be purchased online for travel within 6 months from the date of purchase.

Gatwick Express services will operate every half  hour this Sunday, 21 February 2010.

The Gatwick Express half-hourly service will depart London Victoria Station at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour.

From Gatwick Airport services will operate at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour.

A bus replacement service will be in operation between the hours of 06:00 and 17:00 (17:15 from Gatwick) on Friday 25 December 2009.

Services on Boxing Day will operate half hourly, starting at 05:30 from Victoria Station and 06:20 from Gatwick.

Half-hourly services depart Victoria at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour; services depart 20 and 50 minutes past the hour from Gatwick Airport.

This coming Sunday, 15 November 2009, the Gatwick Express services will operate half hourly instead of every 15 minutes.