Extra-wide ticket barriers now open at Gatwick Airport station

Gatwick Airport train station's new extra-wide gate lines. Credit: GTR

A new ticket gate line has opened at Gatwick Airport railway station with extra-wide openings to improve access for passengers with luggage. It’s part of a massive upgrade to create a bigger, brighter station, with improved accessibility for passengers. It includes a second station concourse, a new station entrance, wider platforms and eight new escalators, five new lifts and four new stairways.

In October 2022, Network Rail unveiled improved train service information screens. Now, Govia Thameslink Railway and Gatwick Airport provide seamless free Wi-Fi, with no need to switch provider when walking between the airport and railway station. The refresh of the existing concourse is entering its final stages as more concourse space is created for passengers, and platforms 5 and 6 are expected to reopen in the new year. The entire project is on target to complete next spring.

“The project’s going really well and already we’re seeing the benefits of the upgrade,” David Stronell, Project Change Manager for Govia Thameslink Railway, said. “It made sense to make every one of our ticket gates extra wide because we have so many customers travelling with luggage. It’s all part of our drive to make the station is easy to use.”

“The Gatwick Airport Station Project will transform the passenger experience at the station, helping people get on and off trains and platforms more easily, speeding up their journeys to and from airport terminals, and supporting a more reliable train service on the Brighton Main Line,” Simon Newland, Project Director for Network Rail, said. “The installation of new wide gate lines, new customer information screens and work to open up the existing concourse are the latest in a whole package of improvements we are delivering for passengers who use Gatwick. Passengers can look forward to more improvements next year as we work to reopen platforms 5 and 6 and finish work on a new second concourse that will double the space for passengers”.

“We’re at an exciting stage as improvements to Gatwick’s train station come online,” Michelle Stanton, Business Change Manager for Gatwick Airport, said. “Extra-wide tickets barriers make passing through with luggage much easier and, although not yet finished, the new bigger, brighter refurbished concourse has already transformed the passenger experience. The giant new concourse is also taking shape where more escalators, lifts and staircases will help create a seamless transition from station to airport when it opens next year.”

The project involves the Department for Transport, Network Rail, GTR, Gatwick Airport Ltd and Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.