Gatwick Airport’s railways station set for major upgrade Posted on: February 8th, 2019 A transformational development to Gatwick Airport’s railway station is set to be given the thumbs up – with council chiefs at Crawley Borough Council set to give the scheme their approval. The development plans, which have been brought forward by Network Rail, Gatwick Airport, Coast to Capital LEP and the Department for Transport, have been developed to bring the station up to date, with large improvements and modernisation planned for the station. [emaillocker id=”71749″] Gatwick Airport, who’ll be sharing details of the plans for the wider Airport City Region at our Airport Cities Development Conference, are seeing an ever increasing number of passengers pass through the airport, and the new station will ensure the customer experience is higher. Plans include: Doubling the size of the concourse Modernisation of facilities and station Widening to platforms New lifts and escalators fitted across platforms Better connectivity to the south terminal and other rail destinations Design led roof structure Two-storey back of house building The plans outlines are set to help reduce congestion and improve connectivity – in an station which sees footfall at over 19m per annum, more than 10m more passengers than the station served just 20 years ago. A report on the expansion and improvements says: “The proposals will provide enhanced passenger experience in the longer term at the railway station at Gatwick Airport, resulting in improved passenger access to and from the airport by train. It would not add to airport terminal capacity and wouldn’t itself increase passenger numbers.” John Halsall, Network Rail Managing Director for the South East, said: “The new Gatwick station is set to reduce congestion and give passengers a much improved experience, including a more seamless transition between airport and station. More than a million local commuters and business people also use the station each year and will benefit from this fantastic example of teh public and private sector working together to deliver a world-class transport hub. The new station also complements the transformation of train services at Gatwick – with new direct services to Cambridge and Peterborough for the first time ever.” Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer at Gatwick Airport – who’re set to speak at the Airport Cities Development Conference, said: “Gatwick Airport is the most important driver of our regional economy and the railway station is the sixth busiest in the whole of the UK outside London. Investing at Gatwick should be a top priority for the region and the UK economy as a whole. We’re delighted to support this project – the new station will benefit passengers and staff at the airport and the many highly productive businesses based in Gatwick and Crawley.” There is set to be a major focus on developments in and around UK airports over the next few years – with new urban extensions driving football, businesses and more to the area. We’re delighted to be at the forefront of the agenda with the Airport Cities Development Conference. Click here to register for the event. [/emaillocker]
