Comment: Gatwick compares poorly with Far East counterparts

On my journey to and from Japan, I used three airport transfer services.

In Shanghai, with a seven-hour stopover, I had time to jump on the Maglev train into town (although actually it only reaches the outside of the central area), which is an amazing experience.

It reaches 300kph (186mph). But while that is pretty impressive, it has been slowed down from its maximum 431kph (268mph) to save electricity.

Even then, it takes just eight minutes to cover the 30km journey, and it is fun watching it hurtle past the traffic on the adjoining motorway. The one-way cost was 40 Yuan (or a fiver).

In Tokyo, from Narita airport, there is the Skyliner. This is a conventional train that takes you to Nippori, on the Tokyo equivalent of the Circle Line, for £12.50 - a premium price in Japan, although relatively cheap in an international context.

Interestingly, although both China and Japan have excellent ticket machines that are often the only way to pay for your fare, at both Tokyo Narita and Shanghai’s Pudong airport, there were ticket offices - a recognition that incoming passengers would need the advice of staff.

Contrast this with Gatwick, where the ticket office has been closed and replaced by a sea of not very good and complex machines, with only one or two staff members to help the huge number of passengers.

Moreover, there is the Gatwick Express, which costs more than twice the price of the normal trains (£22.90 as opposed to £10.10) but offers no benefit whatsoever, except perhaps a minute quicker journey time.

This just adds complexity to what is already a completely confusing situation for incoming passengers, who (even if they are lucky enough to find the cheaper fares) must be bewildered by the different companies offering a range of journeys into London.

This is something that our new Transport Secretary, or ‘passenger in chief’, could sort out promptly.