Transport for London (TfL) has today set out that works are 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.
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.