Transport for London (TfL) is set to start work to bring step-free access to the internationally important South Kensington Tube station, having confirmed it intends to award a design and build contract to deliver the transformative scheme to Costain.
The contract, let under TfL’s recently awarded Infrastructure Improvement Framework, will see Costain deliver the detailed design work as well as construction work for the station improvements. These include delivering much-needed step-free access to the Circle, District and Piccadilly line platforms, as well as the ticket hall and the subway that links the station to nearby museums via a new accessible station entrance on Thurloe Street. A new dedicated eastbound platform for the Circle and District line will be brought into customer use, and the station’s heritage features on the Circle and District line platforms restored.
South Kensington station is the gateway to London’s internationally renowned cultural quarter, used by tens of millions of customers every year. As well as serving many museums, it also is widely used by those visiting nearby educational establishments like Imperial College London, and local specialist hospitals like the Royal Brompton and Royal Marsden.
Once fully delivered by 2031, which is also the 150th anniversary of the Natural History Museum, the station improvements will significantly increase station capacity – tackling overcrowding and greatly improving access for wheelchair users, customers with buggies and other passengers with mobility needs, who currently find navigating the station extremely difficult.
The station improvement work will be integrated and delivered by TfL and its intended supplier Costain, alongside a joint venture between Native Land and Places for London for the public transport-oriented development in the surrounding buildings, which will be done sympathetically to the local heritage and architecture. The scheme will be funded through TfL’s Business Plan, alongside a £12m contribution from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and a separate contribution from the 1851 Commission.
With the design and build contract now due to be awarded, the first work on site is planned to take place before the end of the year. The minor enabling works, in a currently unoccupied retail unit at 34 Thurloe Street, will last for approximately eight weeks. This initial work will help prepare 34 Thurloe Street for its future use as the new step-free access point for the station. Following completion of the work, the unit will be secured behind a hoarding until the main works commence. The enabling works have been designed and scheduled to cause minimal disruption for those living and visiting the area, and should not impact the station during the October half-term break.
Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “I’m delighted that our plans to transform the internationally important South Kensington station are fully progressing. Awarding the contract to Costain means that, working closely with Native Land and Places for London – our wholly-owned property company – we can deliver step-free access here for the first time, as well as provide improved space for businesses. It will also see the delivery of new homes, including on-site affordable housing, and radically improve the station for the millions of people who travel through or live in and around South Kensington.”
