These past few weeks have seen an extreme increase in accessibility on TfL Rail East, which runs from Liverpool Street to Shenfield. The previous accessibility gap between Stratford and Chadwell Heath has been plugged up with 4 step-free stations: Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, and Seven Kings.
Although they will be part of the Elizabeth Line when it opens (maybe spring 2020?), these stations are only step-free to platform, meaning that they will require manual boarding ramps. As I’ve explained in earlier posts, the decision to use high-floor trains for the Elizabeth Line means that level boarding is not possible on railway lines that share track with freight and other services. Regardless, this is still great news and is a major boost for accessibility in East London.
Access All Areas
I also wanted to highlight a very important accessibility event in London later this month. On 19th March at ExCeL London, TfL is hosting “Access All Areas,” which will bring together rail bosses, engineers, businesses, and passengers to showcase innovations in accessible transport as well as provide information and important resources.
Although all the workshop sessions and panels were fully booked after the first two days of registration, there will still be plenty of exhibitors and networking opportunities. I will personally be there with my husband Jon and will be unofficially promoting the SFL Map. See you there!
I used Harold Wood Station today and while the new stairs are in use the lifts are far from complete with lifts still looking like when delivered and no work on what will be electric sign above the lifts while upgrade to permanent entrance still needs to be done
By chance I sat on train where lifts at Gidea Park Station are and they are in a similar state so it looks like it will be a few months yet before these stations become accessible with Summer more than Spring the earliest.
While at Romford Station which currently has Step Free access via ramps the main entrance now has hoardings in place and a former shop has been converted into a worksite office in preparation to building lift access .
Thanks for the updates! Ive also heard that Goodmayes is by far the most delayed one (other than Ilford of course)
You mentioned Ilford Station . It seems some work is underway on middle platforms where steelwork is being installed under stairs from main entrance above . So some construction work is underway.
Yea it seems that news went really quiet about Goodmayes, Gidea Park, Romford and Harold Wood…honestly MTR back in morherland Hong Kong has caused plenty of delays before so is not surprising that this is delayed too…
OMG!!!! Waterloo new entrance has opened!!! Ianvisits blog says that feasibility studies is being carried out to reinstate the installation of lifts to the Bakerloo and Northern lines WOOHOOOO!! Let’s hope this is good news for an old scheme, though funding is not in place but wow what a surprise. The lift to the W&C line meanwhile is not done yet though…
Im a bit concerned about the part about the W&C line not being publicised as step-free..The ramp (for eastbound platform) is a bit steep, but probably not more than the one in East Croydon. And the other platform does have a lift. I am thrilled to hear that the Elizabeth House redevelopment may bring step-free access to the remaining lines after all this time. However, I will porobably hold off from adding it to my future map until more information becomes available.
Visited Goodmayes Station today it looked like lift on centr al platforms has messages scrolling across suggesting lift is largely completed. However it and other lifts are totally in accessible as the old wooden staircases are still in place and despite work finishing at other stations no sign of any work underway.
While at Romford Station a section of the old roofing above the middle platforms has been removed and a section of middle platforms at eastern end above the Station entrance below has been boarded off possibly as advanced work for lifts .
Its so strange how Goodmayes is so behind. Every other one (Harold Wood and Gidea Park) seems to be close to opening
Yesterday I noticed a group of workers busy on the platform of Harold Wood Station next to the lift so perhaps work to open lift in underway. Alas for Gidea Park Station the lifts still don’t have their signs installed above the lifts .
I went to Brentwood yesterday and returned via Brentwood Station where I noticed the lift on platform 4 was closed off with gates closed.
Hmm hopefully Harold wood will open within the next few weeks
Network Rail has awarded the contract to make several west London stations accessible . See –
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/network-rail-awards-final-west-london-station-upgrade-contracts-for-crossrail-project
Its astounding that its taken them so long to get this sorted!
While at Liverpool Street Station tonight I noticed a hoarding has been installed next to the Central Line Escalators next to the eastbound Circle Line to allow work to provide a connection to the new Crossrail/ Elizabeth Line ticket hall beneath Broadgate .
I was at Goodmayes today where at platform level everything looks the same as last time . However, the Crossrail site has published an update today which includes this information on Goodmayes Station –
On the east, the programme for completion of work at the Harold Wood ticket office has now been received from Network Rail and their contractor has now mobilised, and the ticket office at Goodmayes has now been made available for fit-out.
Do you happen to have any station layout for the Liverpool street crossrail station? All the ones I have seen seem either outdated or do not have enough detail to see where the station connects at Liverpool Street (the situation at Moorgate is much clearer). I expect Harold Wood and Gidea Park to open imminently (as per my soon-to-be-published post), but Goodmayes will probably take significantly longer.
Link to today’s update on Crossrail site –
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/crossrail-project-update
One other change I noticed at Liverpool Street Station is that hoarding has been installed along the wall between the eastbound Circle Line platform and escalators down to the Central Line platforms. Which will allow access route to Broadgate Crossrail ticket hall to be created .
I noticed today that the maps on Class. 345 train I was on to Liverpool Street had been updated to include the 4 stations which recently became step free . New maps a sure sign that another station will become accessible!