Gatwick Airport station
Gatwick Airport 
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Southbound view from Platform 2 in September 1995
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| 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 (3 island, 1 side) |
| DfT category | B |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| 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. | |
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Gatwick Airport station is the railway station at London Gatwick Airport which provides a direct rail connection to London 26 3⁄4 miles (43.0 km) away. The station 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 one of 18 in the United Kingdom to be managed by Network Rail, but on 29 January 2012 day-to-day management was transferred to Southern. Train services are provided by Gatwick Express, Southern, Thameslink and Great Western Railway. When viewed from the air (or in satellite imagery), the present station building's British Rail logo that is etched on the top of the roof is visible.
In terms of passenger entries and exits between April 2010 and March 2011, Gatwick Airport was the tenth-busiest station outside London.
TfL Oyster cards and contactless cards have been accepted for travel from 11 January 2016.
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.
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