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London to Brighton by train
How to take a rail journey from London to Brighton
The trains to Brighton depart from multiple stations in central London:
Gatwick Express operates the trains which leave from Victoria station, which is on the south-west corner of the city's central area.
So it is handily located for the West End and areas such as Chelsea, South Kensington and Notting Hill.
It also has a connection with three Underground lines; the Circle, the District and the Victoria lines.
Thameslink trains cross central London, so they typically depart from these stations - north to south:
- St Pancras International (which is a 2 min walk from King's Cross station)
- Farringdon, which has a very easy interchange with the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines of the Undergound
- City Thameslink, by St Paul's cathedral.
- Blackfriars, which straddles the River Thames so has access points on both the north and south banks of the river; and also has a connection with the Circle and District Lines.
- London Bridge, which has an interchange with the Jubilee and Northern lines
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Routes
Option 1: taking the Gatwick Express trains
Journey Summary
1hr (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Brighton
These trains also call at: Gatwick Airport
Before booking a train journey from London to Brighton it's a good idea to work out at which station in central London you should take a train from, for the optimum journey.
These trains operated by Gatwick Express depart from Victoria, they are in effect Gatwick Express services, which have had their journeys extended to Brighton.
So they depart from the Gatwick Express platforms in London Victoria
However, there are also alternative trains operated by Thameslink, which are as frequent and depart from other stations in central London - St Pancras and Farringdon and City Thameslink and Blackfriars and London Bridge.
Though if you can book ahead, the 'Advance' tickets for these Gatwick Express trains are the cheapest option for making a journey by rail from London to Brighton.
2 x trains per hour
Tickets
Despite these trains being branded Gatwick Express, the Gatwick Express website does not sell tickets for journeys by these trains.
The trains on this route used to be operated by Southern and its website still sells the tickets.
Book early and save:
The cheaper 'Advance' tickets tend to be available from around 10-11 weeks ahead of the travel date, but tickets can be booked up to 12 weeks ahead.
So if you look up a journey more than 10-12 weeks ahead and can't see any 'Advance' tickets, it will mean that they haven't been released for sale yet - it won't be because they have sold out.
The two disadvantages of booking an 'Advance' ticket is that they can only be used on the specific departure you select when making a booking - and then if you don't take that train, because you change your travel plans or don't get to the station on time, they can't be refunded.
The big plus of booking an 'Advance' ticket is the price, they can be more £20 cheaper than booking last minute tickets at the station.
Note that 'Advance' tickets aren't available for the alternative Thameslink services, which depart from other stations in London for Brighton.
So you can save more than £12 compared to taking those trains, if you can find the cheapest 'Advance' tickets online for these Southern services; they're taken off sale at 18:00 on the previous day.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Railway | from £6 | |
| National Rail | from £6 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
Note that this route is route is (was) very popular with commuters, and as seats can't be reserved on these trains, try to avoid departing from London between 16:30 and 19:00.
Not only will the trains be busier, the cheaper advance tickets are a lot less likely to be available.
These trains do not call at Clapham Junction or East Croydon stations
It's a pleasant, but not especially beautiful journey by train from Victoria Station to Brighton.
It takes around 20 minutes to reach the edges of London's urban sprawl.
The railway line cross the scenic areas of the North Downs and the South Downs national park, but the route follows a series of tunnels and cuttings through these hills.
Though look out for the fleeting, but lovely views from either side of the train, when the railway crosses the Ouse Valley Viaduct between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath stations.
Option 2: taking the Thameslink trains
Journey Summary
1hr 5min - 1hr 10min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Brighton
The journey time is from London Bridge station, but these Thameslink trains cross central London, so before departing from London Bridge they also call at St Pancras and Farringdon and City Thameslink and Blackfriars stations.
So when planning a train journey from London to Brighton it's a good idea to work out at which station in central London you should take a train from, for your optimum route.
Particularly as there are also alternative services available which depart for Brighton from Victoria station which have a similar London to Brighton journey time as these Thameslink trains; and if you book ahead those trains are typically cheaper.
4 x trains per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: No
Two types of ticket are available for a London to Brighton journey by Thameslink trains:
(1)The Off-Peak' tickets live up to their name, as they cannot be used to travel on trains which depart from London stations at busy commuter periods.
They are also cheaper when travelling at weekends, the from £12.60 price is the weekend price.
But if you will making a day trip to Brighton by train, you can save money by booking Off-Peak Day Return tickets.
(2) Anytime tickets, which are more expensive as they live up to their name so can be used in the peak business hours.
However, neither of these types of tickets is discounted at all, so you won't save by booking journeys by these Thameslink trains ahead of your travel date online - you will pay the same price if you book last minute at the station.
The tickets are different on the Southern services, currently operated by Gatwick Express
In contrast limited numbers of discounted 'Advance' tickets will be available online for the alternative London to Brighton train services.
Although those trains depart from Victoria station, so if you won't incur public transport costs to access Victoria from your starting location AND you can book at least a couple of weeks ahead (typically), they're a cheaper option for a London to Brighton train journey.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Thameslink | from £12.60 | |
| National Rail | from £12.60 | |
| National Rail | from £12.60 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
Note that this route is route is (was) very popular with commuters, and as seats can't be reserved on these trains, try to avoid departing from London between 16:30 and 19:00.
Not only will the trains be busier, the cheaper 'Off-Peak' tickets won't be available.
After Croydon these trains take the same route as the Southern trains.
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