Gatwick Station scheduled to received upgrades

The Department for Transport has pledged £150M to upgrade the facilities of the train station serving Gatwick Airport in a bid to reduce train delays and provide easier connections across the South-East.

The new upgrades to be constructed will include: doubling the size of the concourse, widening two platforms to reduce over-crowding, adding five new lifts, and adding a further eight new escalators.

It is predicted that tens of millions of people will benefit from the improvements to accessibility, and the swifter journeys said improvements should entail, as the number of people using Gatwick Airport station, per year, has dramatically increased by six million since 2010.

Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling stated: “With 46 million people now using Gatwick Airport every year and 20 million coming by train, it is vital that we make the station more accessible and customer friendly for those travelling through it. The UK’s second largest airport has direct rail links to more than 120 destinations and is an important public transport hub.

“We want to see Gatwick Airport’s success continue to flourish and ensure that it is ready for even more passengers in the future. Through this £150 million investment, we will deliver vital upgrades to boost the station’s capacity and provide better, seamless journeys for all.”

Upgrading the station is to be managed by Network Rail in partnership with the Department for Transport, while part of the funding for these improvements has been generously provided by Gatwick Airport Ltd and the Coast to Capital Enterprise who will supply £37M and £10M to the project respectively.

The Director of Investment for Network Rail, Paul Harwood stated: “The transformational enhancement to Gatwick Airport station will provide passengers with a much smoother and more pleasant experience and also reduce train delays.

“Along with the recent improvements on the Brighton Main Line and our record £4.3 billion funding settlement for maintaining, operating and renewing the railway over the next five years, this investment is excellent news for passengers, businesses and the economy.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2020 and will last for approximately two years.

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