Gatwick claims rail services to the airport will be “best in class” in five years time as it further put forward its case for a second runway.
A train will leave Gatwick for central London every 2.5 minutes by 2019 and rail capacity will double by 2020.
The airport will be connected to more than 1,000 rail stations within one change, including links to all UK main rail lines, Crossrail and HS2 as 15 million people are brought within 60 minutes of Gatwick.
The transformation is set to start next year when new fleets of trains are introduced on the Gatwick Express and on new Thameslink services on the main line between London and Brighton.
Gatwick claims there will be quicker journey times to the West End, Canary Wharf and City, than from Heathrow with new direct connections to Oxford, Peterborough and Cambridge.
Almost half (45%) of Gatwick’s passengers already use public transport to get to the airport.
The improvement to rail services at the airport will help this rise to at least 60% by 2040 with a new runway, Gatwick claims.
Hugh Sumner, senior transport advisor for the airport, said: “Rail services through Gatwick will be best in class for any UK airport in just five years, whether a new runway is built or not.
“Rail capacity will double by 2018 and a train will leave the airport for central London every 2.5 minutes by 2019.
“The improvements to rail services through Gatwick mean that 60% of our customers will be able to use public transport, comparable with the best globally and better than any UK airport.
“The ease at which these improvements can be delivered adds yet more weight to the obvious case for a new runway at Gatwick.”