The first image of a major facelift for Crawley station has been released and building work is underway on the first phase of a project that will give visitors to the town a much brighter welcome.
The ticket office is about to undergo a transformation with the ticket gates moved and the area decluttered, new glazing installed to brighten up the concourse, along with work to improve the toilets and a longer London-bound platform canopy to keep the rain off.
A temporary station building has come into use to serve Thameslink and Southern passengers while the project’s first phase is underway.
Network Rail’s route director for Sussex, Katie Frost, said: “This is a fantastic project that will give passengers a much better experience when they catch a train or arrive in Crawley. It’s fair to say that the station was designed and built in a time when fewer passengers we using the railway and it’s great to start to bring the station up to modern standards.
“Once the major work to the interior of the station starts in 2022 we’ll be moving station facilities to a temporary building in the car park, so I’d like to thank passengers in advance for the change to their usual journeys.”
Southern’s Customer Services Director Chris Fowler said: “We welcome this comprehensive refurbishment. It will create a better experience all round for our customers, with more space, refurbished toilets and better cycle parking. We thank customers for their patience while the work is under way, and we’re very grateful to our tenant, Metro Cars, for their flexibility.”
Councillor Peter Smith, Crawley Borough Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development, said: “The whole Town has been waiting many years for improvements to Overline House to come forward and we welcome the commencement of works by Network Rail to modernise and improve the station ticket hall. We look forward to seeing the broader Station Gateway development get underway as soon as possible afterwards.”
As part of the later phases of the project – the wider scheme planned for the area around the station – a public footbridge over the railway is planned to be repaired, along with other major improvements to the station frontage.
Photo credit: Network Rail
