Gatwick airport train station is to get £120.5 million worth of improvements, the government has announced.
Work on the major upgrade will start in 2017 and due to be completed in 2020. Gatwick airport said the funding will mean many improved features and services including a doubling in the size of the concourse area and more escalators and lifts.
Under the terms of the agreement signed by both Gatwick and government, Gatwick will contribute £30 million and Network Rail a further £30 million towards the deal, which is still subject to further detailed commercial negotiations.
Gatwick said the improvements are needed to help the station manage the growth in passenger numbers, which are expected to rise from 5 million to 20 million a year by 2025.
Gatwick train station to be transformed with £120m upgradeGuy Stephenson, Gatwick’s chief commercial officer said: “This agreement is a great example of the private sector and government working together in partnership to deliver a game changing and affordable project for the future.
“This new station builds on the ongoing transformation of Gatwick Airport and will deliver a first-class gateway for visitors, air passengers and the 1 million rail commuters who use Gatwick station every year.”
This station upgrade will be delivered alongside an increase in capacity on rail services through Gatwick, between Brighton and London, as a result of committed and planned enhancements announced earlier this year, which include:
- New Gatwick Express trains by 2016 and new Thameslink trains by 2018
- Connections to Crossrail at Farringdon in 2019
- New twice hourly direct connections to Peterborough and Cambridge
- A train to central London every 2.5 minutes by 2025
- Quicker journey times to the West End and City, than from Heathrow
- 15 million people brought within 60 minutes of Gatwick