Gatwick Airport railway station to get major upgrade

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From Airport World:

Gatwick train station to get a major upgrade



Gatwick Airport train station is to get a major upgrade, the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) government announced today, with a ^120.5 million (^153 million) redesign transforming the station and passenger experience.

Work is scheduled to start in 2017 and complete in 2020 and the gateways says passengers will experience a seamless transition between the airport and the new station.

Improvements and new features will include:
- a doubling in size of the concourse area to reduce congestion and improve the passenger experience
- more escalators and lifts to improve access to all platforms
- intuitive passenger flow and clear concise information

Under the heads of terms agreement signed by both Gatwick and government, Gatwick will contribute ^30 million (^38 million) and Network Rail a further ^30 million (^38 million) toward the deal, which is still subject to further detailed commercial negotiations.

The improvements will see the rail station comfortably manage the expected growth in air passengers using the single runway airport, with demand at the station set to increase by five million to 20 million rail passengers a year by 2025.

Guy Stephenson, Gatwick^s chief commercial officer, explains: "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 major station upgrade will be delivered alongside a significant increase in capacity on rail services through Gatwick, between Brighton and London, as a result of committed and planned enhancements.

These will improve resilience and the quality of rail service through Gatwick, including:
- 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

[stuving]

What on earth does " the gateways says" mean? Presumably that refers to GAL's press notice, with none from NR^» (Network Rail - home page) so far, so this is not a government announcement, really.

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report clarifies the timing and funding:

Network Rail and the airport have announced they will each contribute ^30m to the project.

In December 2013, the government said it would provide ^50m, subject to funding from the airport.

In the chancellor's Autumn Statement, the government announced it would "take forward a package of measures to improve surface access to Gatwick Airport".

The concourse at the railway station will be doubled size, with more escalators and lifts to the platforms, with work due to be completed by 2020, the airport said.

So it was  "announced" by HMG a year ago (in the infrastructure plan) and only now has it turned into a pretty picture.

Also, the Western/Wessex/Southern Area Route Studies foresee two direct trains per hour from Gatwick to Reading  - and maybe further - sometime after 2109 - maybe ... or maybe I did mean 2019. But then Network Rail's long-term plans are getting longer and longer, aren't they?

[TonyK]

Crikey, that's long term planning!

[stuving]

There's been a lot in the news today about the imminent opening of the new improved bits of Gatwick station. I think they all overstate the improvements - including this long piece from IanVisits.

You could be forgiven for asking "what, again?" There were upgrades both to the passenger areas upstairs, and to the track layout and platforms (adding p7) during the last ten years. So, how new is this?

It is indeed all part of the same overall upgrade, meant to switch Gatwick Express from the very wide P1/2 to the rather narrow P5/6, now between the fast lines. That much was done last time (2014), but it was known then the P5/6 needed to be widened and the concourse above and the "vertical circulation" enlarged. I guess they did what they could, without waiting for all the planning and other time-consuming stuff, as a first step.

But there was a problem -  and it hasn't really been solved. P5/6 has been widened a little around the new lifts and escalators for the new concourse, which is the most important area. But the north end, under the old concourse, could not be made wider or the concourse would not have a leg to stand on. It sits on a row of stanchions just beyond where the P6 track was, so while there's space outside that it can't be used. So they are left with P5/6, designated for handling the major air passenger flows, still being cramped over much of its length.

With hindsight, I wonder why P7 was not put as far back is possible within the major pre-existing buildings. Clearly it hasn't been, as even at the narrowest points there are other things - buildings walkways etc - behind P7. On the other hand, I can understand why they didn't try to move or replace those supporting legs ...

The planing documents are at Crawley Borough Council planning register CR/2018/0273/FUL, if you're interested.