Transport for London (TfL) has today set out that work is getting underway on increasing the number of step-free stations on the London Underground network. TfL is starting design work imminently on making a further three Tube stations step-free, which means there are now five Underground stations with funding in place for this phase. A further seven Tube stations will undergo assessment for step-free access feasibility.
Work is starting on the designs that would make three Piccadilly line stations step-free (Alperton, Arnos Grove and Eastcote, which is also served by the Metropolitan line), building on feasibility work that started last year.
This follows TfL confirming earlier this year that work was to start at Northolt Tube station on the Central line to make it step-free, and that design work will start at North Acton (Central line) and West Hampstead (Jubilee line).
A further seven Tube stations will also undergo assessment for step-free access feasibility; they are Croxley (Metropolitan line), East Finchley (Northern line), Neasden (Jubilee line), Northwood (Metropolitan line) and Turnham Green (District / Piccadilly lines), as well as Colliers Wood and Tooting Broadway on the Northern line.
The feasibility studies at Colliers Wood and Tooting Broadway come after an initial assessment of stations on the southern end of the Northern line. TfL will examine benefits, costs, funding opportunities and impact on customers. The southern end of the Northern line is the longest stretch of the Tube network that does not have any step-free stations, with just the terminus station of Morden being step-free from street to train.
Today, more than a third of Underground stations across the city provide step-free access, with the Mayor of London’s ambitious goal set at making 50 per cent of Tube stations step-free by 2030. Increasing the number of Underground stations with step-free access continues TfL’s work to make the capital’s transport network more accessible but progress will depend on deliverability and TfL’s future funding position, with schemes prioritised where there is third party funding available.
The Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said: “London is for everyone, and the Mayor and I are committed to making London’s transport network as accessible as possible, to enable everyone to enjoy all that London has to offer. I’m pleased that work will begin soon to give three more stations step-free access, and I will continue to work with TfL to keep increasing this number, and build a better, fairer and more accessible London for everyone.”
