Aidan Stanger wrote:
Since reading various threads about Gatwick and the ELL, I've started to
wonder - has anyone considered combining them with a service from
Gatwick Airport to Liverpool Street (stopping all stations via
Forest Hill)? The idea might seem strange at first, but it does appear
to have a lot going for it - giving Surrey and South London direct
access to Liverpool Street station and E1 would greatly increase
connectivity, and for many airport passengers with heavy luggage, the
convenience would more than make up for the extra journey time (though
obviously those in a hurry would continue to use Thameslink).

I think the demand for such a service would be high, but have I
overestimated it? And if demand were high, would they be able to run
enough trains to accommodate it?

I'd have thought that the easterly connections with Crossrail, linking
with the current Thameslink services would provide most of the
inner-suburban connectivity for such a route, and the number of people
going between far Essex and East Anglia and Sussex, for whom an extra
connection is offputting are few in number.

Robin