Following their announcement on 4 April 2007, the Department for Transport has now announced key dates after the conclusion of its negotiations with Southern for the transfer of the Gatwick Express to Southern.

The Department confirmed that the current Gatwick Express franchise will end on 22 June 2008, when the service will be transferred to Southern. The Gatwick Express will continue to run with four trains per hour between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria until 14 December 2008 when a revised service will operate, to include additional services between Brighton and London in the high-peak hours.

Southern’s Managing Director, Chris Burchell said: “We are delighted to have successfully concluded negotiations with the Department and to be entrusted to run the Gatwick Express with its excellent reputation for delivering a high-quality service and good levels of passenger satisfaction.”

This change will increase the size of the Southern franchise and means it can conclude the details for a new Brighton Main Line timetable, which aims to provide additional capacity for Southern passengers from December 2008.

This deal also incorporates confirmation of the end date for the current Southern franchise. This will be on 20 September 2009, to allow time for the new franchise to bed in before the start of a revised South London timetable in December of that year, which will accommodate the East London Line extension.

Chris Burchell added: “Signing this deal with the Department for Transport means there are more exciting times ahead for Southern. We are very pleased to have clarity for the rest of the current Southern franchise and to be adding Gatwick Express to our services. We now look forward to building on the successes of Gatwick Express and Southern even further for our passengers.”