Public invited to information session on £3.9m improvement to Crawley train station

Passengers and residents in the Crawley area are invited to a drop-in session to find out more about the upcoming Access for All station improvement project.
An image of how the new footbridge will lookAn image of how the new footbridge will look
An image of how the new footbridge will look

Network Rail is investing £3.9m at Crawley station to install a new footbridge and two new lifts, making access between the station entrance, ticket office and both platforms much easier for customers with reduced mobility as well as those with children, heavy luggage or shopping. The existing footbridge at the station will be removed as part of this project.

Work will start on January 27 with the project finishing in the autumn. The main impact of this work during construction will be a significant reduction in the number of car parking spaces available at Crawley station with the area being used for storage and welfare areas for the duration of the project. There will be around 50 fewer spaces available for station users during this time.

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A public information session will be held in the main station building at Crawley between 4pm and 7pm on Wednesday (January 15). Anyone with any questions about the project and how it will impact the local area is welcome to attend.

An image of how the footbridge will lookAn image of how the footbridge will look
An image of how the footbridge will look

From January until the end of the project there will be a part closure of the station car park. A total of 50 spaces will be out of action for the duration of the work. This is to allow for the establishment of a welfare and storage compound and to maintain the safety of both members of the public and contractors working on site.

For the duration of the project there will be closures of the areas of both platforms where new staircases and lift shafts are being installed. These areas of the platform will be closed to passengers, including the walking route to the Arora Hotel via Platform 2.

Network Rail says there will be no direct impact on rail services as a result of this project. Any jobs that can’t be completed while trains are running will take place at times when the railway is already closed for work elsewhere.

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Hodan Hassan, project sponsor for Network Rail, said: “Step-free access at Crawley will benefit the thousands of passengers who use the station each day and we’re really pleased to be getting started with the delivery of this important project. We look forward to meeting as many passengers and residents as possible at our public event, so they can find out how our work may affect them.”

Southern and Gatwick Express managing director, Angie Doll, added: “We are committed to making our services accessible to everyone, so we are delighted that these improvements will make journeys to and from Crawley easier, especially for passengers with mobility issues, luggage or a pushchair.

“This will be the first stage of a major transformation for the station. There are plans in the pipeline including a more spacious concourse, more ticket gates and a new waiting room that will create a much-improved facility for the local community.”

Crawley station sits on the Arun Valley line, between Three Bridges and Horsham, and serves more than 1.7 million passengers per year. Currently passengers with mobility issues need to travel to Three Bridges, the nearest accessible station.

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More information on the project is available at: www.networkrail.co.uk/crawley.

The work is part of the Department for Transport backed ‘Access for All’ programme which aims to provide obstacle free, accessible routes to and between platforms. More than £300m has been secured to continue with the Access for All Programme over the next five years.