Gatwick Airport railway station
Gatwick Airport 
|
|
|---|---|
Southbound view from platform 2 in 1995
|
|
| Location | |
| Place | London Gatwick Airport |
| Local authority | Borough of Crawley |
| Coordinates | 51°09′23″N 0°09′39″W / 51.1565°N 0.1609°WCoordinates: 51°09′23″N 0°09′39″W / 51.1565°N 0.1609°W |
| Grid reference | TQ287413 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | GTW |
| Managed by | Southern |
| Number of platforms | 7 |
| DfT category | B |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 14.759 million |
| 2012/13 |
15.353 million |
| 2013/14 |
16.186 million |
| 2014/15 |
17.494 million |
| 2015/16 |
18.029 million |
| History | |
| Original company | London, Brighton & South Coast Railway |
| 1891 | Opened as Gatwick |
| 1946 | Renamed Gatwick Racecourse |
| 27 May 1958 | Rebuilt and renamed Gatwick Airport |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Gatwick Airport from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 |
|
Gatwick Airport railway station serves London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England. It is on the Brighton Main Line, 26 miles 47 chains (42.8 km) down-line from London Victoria.
The platforms are located about 70 metres to the east of the airport's South Terminal, with the ticket office above the platforms. The station was formerly managed by Network Rail, but in 2012 it was transferred to Southern.
Train services are provided by Gatwick Express (Southern), Thameslink and Great Western Railway. The present station building's British Rail logo on the top of the roof is visible from above.
In terms of passenger entries and exits in 2010/11, Gatwick Airport was the tenth-busiest station in the country outside of London.
There have been two Gatwick stations sited approximately 0.85 miles (1.37 km) from each other.
The station, originally named Gatwick, was built on the present site in September 1891 to serve the Gatwick Racecourse, and originally operated only on race days. The facilities included passing loops and sidings to hold race trains without impeding the Brighton Main Line. The sidings were extended during World War I to be able to accommodate munitions trains heading for Newhaven.
From 1946 until 1958, Gatwick station was renamed Gatwick Racecourse, even though racing had been abandoned in 1940 and not reinstated after World War II. In fact the station had fallen out of use following the opening of the nearby Tinsley Green/Gatwick Airport Station (described below). However, during the early 1950s the airport was expanded and took over the land occupied by the racecourse, and the station was entirely rebuilt and integrated with the new airport terminal. The new buildings opened on 27 May 1958 with a regular train service, and the station took over the name Gatwick Airport.
...
Wikipedia