A large proportion of residents of the Carshalton Central neighbourhood actually have a Sutton SM1 postal address and many actually live nearer to the Sutton Town Centre than Carshalton Village.
So we’re very pleased that a new direct coach service linking Sutton Town Centre with Gatwick Airport is set to launch in time for the Christmas holidays after a campaign by Sutton borough councillors and residents. National Express will operate the service between Gatwick and Victoria coach station via Sutton, starting on 5 December. The new A3 service will have two stops in Sutton town centre, in Throwley Way / St. Nicholas Way and at Sutton station, and will also call at Belmont. The journey will take just 40 minutes from Sutton to the South Terminal and 55 minutes to the North Terminal. It will run hourly throughout the day and most of the night, catering for late and early flights and provide an alternative to driving, taxi, or the train which requires a change. The service is something that both main political parties on Sutton Council have been calling for over a number of years, since the 420 bus that used to link Sutton to Gatwick was curtailed at Redhill.
Councillor Simon Wales, Lib Dem Executive Member for Communities, Transport and Voluntary Sector, said: “We very much welcome this new service which will provide a direct link to the airport and avoid the need for costly taxis or airport parking, or a change of trains. We hope it will be well used by borough residents as well as attracting more business and leisure travellers to Sutton.
Conservative Councillor Peter Geiringer, who actually lives in Carshalton Central ward and represents Belmont Ward and has been at the forefront of the campaign, added: “We are pleased that this new service will be serving Belmont as it will greatly assist residents in getting to Gatwick, both for business and leisure travel.”
Andrew Cleaves, Managing Director, National Express coach said, “This new coach service is direct and frequent providing a great new link to both terminals at the airport and into London. The business has the advantage of being able to respond and offer new and improved routes and services to meet demand. As such we’re delighted to introduce this new service for the people of Sutton.”
The new route also improves the number of coaches travelling to London Victoria and is an addition to the National Express 025 Gatwick and Brighton service via Wallington. Everybody travelling is guaranteed a seat and there is a large luggage hold underneath the coach.