Transport for London has announced that Knightsbridge Tube station will become step-free in 2020, making travel in central London easier for older and disabled people and other customers who find it difficult to use stairs or escalators. It will also directly benefit those travelling through the station with heavy luggage, and parents and carers with buggies.
It follows on from the recent completion of the major upgrade of Bond Street Tube station which introduced step-free access for the first time, making it the 72nd Tube station to become step-free and moving the Underground closer to the Mayor’s target for 40 per cent of the network to be step-free by 2022. Making public transport more accessible will also help meet the wider aims of the draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy, which seeks to reduce reliance on the car, tackle air pollution and change the face of travel in London so that 80 per cent of journeys are made by public transport, cycling or walking by 2041.
Knightsbridge Tube station is owned by TfL, while the property above the station is owned by the Knightsbridge Estate. The Estate got the green light in 2016 to redevelop it, restoring the original architectural features of the building’s façade while modernising the office, retail and residential space inside.
