V. Early train from London Blackfriars to Gatwick

[Moomin]

Hoping someone may be able to confirm something for me.
I am catching an early flight from Gatwick so need to check in around 4.30am :eek:
I thought about kipping on a 'chair' at the airport, but I have done this before and got no sleep and it was a very uncomfortable experience.

So my plan is to catch an early train from Blackfriars to Gatwick. It appears that there are trains running to Gatwick from Blackfriars at this time of the morning , which surprises me, as I thought most public transport shuts down overnight (except for the night buses)
Could someone confirm that I am not seeing things?! Also I would like to know if anyone has indeed been on one of these 'middle of the night' trains and if they turn up on time and are reliable etc?

Many thanks

[sarah_elton]

Well, The Trainline says the company is First Capital Connect, and on their website you find the following timetable:

http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/content/doc/timetables/tlbedfordtobrightonmondaytofri.pdf

Since early trains are listed in the train firm's own timetable, it must be true. :)

03:34 gets you there by 4:30 but you'd be late if there's any sort of delay to it so might be worth going for the one half an hour before.

If you can't find anyone who's actually used the service, you could try keeping an eye on the live update page of their website:
http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?sEvent=LiveRunning

This will tell you when services get delayed. The only trouble is notices only appear around the times of the trains, so you'd have to be looking at the site at 3am. :eek: Guess you could try calling First Capital Connect's customer line and asking for the reliability figures for the trains at that time of day (I'm not sure if they'd tell you but worth a go?).

[chuckley]

no main trains shut down in london... only suburb ones do. main stations remain open throughout the night, just with 2 services n hour trains.

u aint seein things.

[Cardelia]

Services out of Waterloo (suburban and long distance) stop just after midnight these days. These are usually reliable though.