Gatwick Airport station revamp to cost extra £30m

Plans to transform Gatwick Airport station will cost £30m more than was previously anticipated.

Work to double the size of the concourse and install more lifts and escalators was originally planned to start in 2017 and finish by 2020.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said work would start in spring 2020 and take two years to complete.

The Department of Transport (DfT) said final plans for the work had been agreed and funded.

In 2014 the government said the work would cost £120m, but it is now forecast at just under £150m.

A DfT spokeswoman said: "All the required funding is in place and that legal agreements have been entered into with our co-funders, Gatwick Airport Limited and Coast to Capital Limited."

Explaining the delays, she added: "This is a complex multi-agency scheme which needs to be carried out at a busy international airport while the station is still operational.

"It is very important to get the details of the delivery right."

Mr Grayling said the plans would deliver "vital" upgrades, reduce train delays caused by overcrowding, and provide easier connections across south-east England.

He added: "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."

Stewart Wingate, CEO of Gatwick Airport, said: "The new station will complement the huge improvements to rail services at the airport, which include new fleets of Gatwick Express and Thameslink trains and services that now leave the airport for London every three minutes."

The renovation will be managed by Network Rail, in partnership with DfT which is providing up to £101.5m to fund the work.

Gatwick Airport Ltd and Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership are co-funding the project with £37m and £10m respectively.

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