Gravesend station will be given a major overhaul

A year of work is due to start at Gravesend station next month.

It comes as part of a major upgrade worth £19million to accommodate longer 12-car trains.

Passengers will benefit from a brighter and more pleasant station, Network Rail said, with improved facilities.

The station will get a new footbridge and lifts will provide step-free access to all platforms.

To accommodate the longer trains, an additional platform will also be built.

To complete the work, a 15-day closure of the station will take place over the Christmas and New Year period later this year.

The closure, which will take place between December 22 and January 6, is needed to change the track layout and main station construction work to take place.

Network Rail's route managing director Fiona Taylor said: "Gravesend station will be vastly improved and the reconstructed platforms will mean longer trains can be accommodated, providing more seats for passengers.

"It is a complicated project which requires the station to be closed for 15 days to carry out the work to the track and station.

"We recognise that this will cause some disruption to passengers and we have timed the work to take place over what is traditionally a less busy time on the railway.

"We are working closely with Southeastern to minimise the impact as much as possible and I am confident the long-term benefits to passengers will outweigh the short-term disruption."

Head of customer services for Southeastern Sarah Boundy said: "We welcome the project at Gravesend which will enable us to run longer trains to meet the growing demand for our services.

"Our priority however, while the works are underway over the Christmas and New Year period, is to ensure customers using our services through Gravesend are still able to make their journeys.

"We're currently looking at all our options to best manage the service during the blockade, and as soon as we have more detailed plans we’ll be sharing them with passengers – most likely sometime after the summer."

Work at Gravesend station, which will be carried out by C Spencer Ltd, will start in May and be completed in May 2014.