NEW images showing how Gatwick Airport railway station would look following a £120.5 million transformation have been released now that all the money needed for the project has been secured.
At the end of last year the Government announced the scheme to redesign the station and the final £10 million that was needed was confirmed as being in place last Thursday.
Government minister Penny Mordaunt revealed that the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) had been successful in a bid for the funding, which means the extensive redevelopment can go ahead.
The complete makeover will include doubling the size of the concourse to reduce congestion, putting in a new roof and installing more escalators and lifts to make it easier to reach all platforms.
Ian Parkes, from Coast to Capital, said: "This is a high priority project for our region.
"The concourse sitting above the tracks can get very congested with people moving through and queuing for tickets.
"Doubling its size, creating more ways to reach the platforms and installing more facilities will make a big difference to passengers.
"The station will also look much better to people whose first impression of the south of England is walking from Gatwick to the station."
An LEP is where businesses and local authorities join together to determine economic priorities and bid for funding to carry them out.
Coast to Capital stretches from Brighton through Surrey to Croydon.
Changes to Gatwick's station will also include improving the route for passengers going between the station and airport, and also potentially separating people who are arriving from those who are departing.
Gatwick Airport and Network Rail will both contribute £30 million and the Government will pay the remaining £50.5 million, on top of the £10 million confirmed last week.
Work is scheduled to start in 2017 and finish in 2020.
Guy Stephenson, Gatwick's chief commercial officer, said: "The redeveloped station will mean our passengers will experience a seamless transition between the airport and the new station.
"It's not just our air passengers that will benefit from the transformation; more than one million other business travellers using Gatwick station every year will as well."
The work will take place at a time when the capacity of rail services passing through Gatwick, between London and Brighton, will be significantly increased.
There will be a train to central London from Gatwick every two and a half minutes by 2025.
A new fleet of 108 carriages for the Gatwick Express will replace the existing 25-year-old stock.
From May 2018 there will be an extra 1,000 standard-class seats from Brighton into London on the morning peak services.
And for the first time, from 2018, there will also be direct links from Gatwick to Peterborough and Cambridge.
