• Boston Manor, Burnt Oak, Debden, Hanger Lane, Ickenham, North Ealing, Northolt, Park Royal, Rickmansworth, Ruislip, Snaresbrook, Sudbury Hill and Wimbledon Park all to benefit
• Key part of Mayor""s £200m investment boost that will help increase step-free access to 40 per cent of London Underground stations by 2022
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today announced a major boost to the accessibility of the London Underground network by confirming the next 13 Tube stations that will be made step-free by spring 2022. The move is a key part of his work to make Tube travel more accessible for everyone.
The next stations to benefit from step-free access will be Boston Manor, Burnt Oak, Debden, Hanger Lane, Ickenham, North Ealing, Northolt, Park Royal, Rickmansworth, Ruislip, Snaresbrook, Sudbury Hill and Wimbledon Park. Together they see more than 33 million passenger journeys each year.
This is the next allocation of an additional £200m the Mayor is investing as part of the largest boost to step-free access in the Tube’s 155-year history. This will help bring the total number of Underground stations with step-free access to all platforms to more than 100. Investment across TfL will mean that by 2022, 40 per cent of the network will be step-free – a significant increase on the current level of 27 per cent.
The work is a key part of the Mayor’s draft Transport Strategy, which aims to create a fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous city by improving public transport and reducing reliance on car journeys.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It’s vital that we make our transport network accessible to all Londoners and visitors. That’s why I vowed to significantly improve the services offered at our stations for those with disabilities, parents with pushchairs or anyone who struggles with their mobility. These improvements are going to make a big difference in helping Londoners move around our city and show the real progress we are making to improve accessibility right across the capital.”
The increase in the number of step-free stations will significantly improve the accessibility of the Tube, making life easier for older and disabled people. It will also give a greater choice of travel options for everyone, and directly benefit parents and carers with children and buggies.
As part of the Mayor’s Tube accessibility programme, a new lift contract has been introduced that can be replicated across many stations. It delivers the same standards of reliability but at a fraction of the cost and length of time it previously took to design, manufacture and install a lift. Transport for London (TfL) anticipates that this initiative will cut the cost of installing each lift cut by 70 per cent, making savings of £15m for reinvestment in improving transport in London. It will also cut the delivery time by 40 per cent, allowing TfL to introduce step-free access in the quickest time possible.
Caroline Sheridan, London Underground Director of Renewals and Enhancements, said: “Improving the accessibility of the London Underground is hugely important to us and we’re determined to do more to enable all our customers to access everything that London has to offer. Not only are we investing more than ever before but we’re putting every aspect of the process under the microscope to see how work can be sped up and improvements made in the most efficient way. By devising a new, market-led lift contract, we can deliver the improvements sooner and take the unprecedented levels of investment further than ever before.”
Paul Goulden, Chief Executive of Age UK London, said: “We’re very pleased to see the number of stations with step-free access will rise to more than 100 by 2022. We want London to be as accessible as possible and these changes mean that more older people will have improved access to central London and can enjoy all that the city has to offer. Today’s announcement is another key step towards achieving this and we look forward to welcoming further progress over the coming years.”
Since the Mayor announced his £200m funding boost in December 2016, the much-needed delivery of step-free access has been brought forward at outer London stations. Newbury Park, Bromley-by-Bow and Buckhurst Hill are scheduled to be step-free in 2018, with work completing at Harrow-on-the-Hill in 2019. Work at Amersham, Cockfosters, Mill Hill East, Osterley and South Woodford will start this year. Work is also progressing at Knightsbridge, and vital interchanges including Bank, Finsbury Park and Victoria.
The full opening of the Elizabeth line in 2019 will also be a huge moment for the accessibility of London""s transport network, with every station being step-free. The line will provide a key new east-west link across the Capital, serving step-free stations at the heart of London, with all platforms and trains accessible and step-free.
As well as improvements to accessibility on the Tube, TfL has the most accessible bus fleet in the world, with all 9,000 buses low-floor wheelchair accessible and fitted with ramps, which are checked daily to ensure they are working. Work has also been carried out with London""s boroughs to improve bus stop accessibility with almost all bus stops now wheelchair accessible.
All 22,000 of London""s taxis are fitted with wheelchair ramps and TfL has begun work to enhance access at taxi ranks.