Three new lifts transform accessibility at Crystal Palace station

Three new lifts from the ticket hall to platforms and connecting walkways will make the station step free.

• Completion of refurbishment programme that started with the restoration of the Grade II listed Victorian ticket hall in this historic station
• Twenty-eight London Overground and London Underground stations to be made step-free over the next 10 years

Three new lifts with connecting glass walkways were opened at London Overground’s Crystal Palace Station today to complete a £7.5m refurbishment and transform accessibility at the historic station.

The 11,000 passengers using the station each day will benefit not only from the lifts but also improved CCTV, customer information screens, a PA system and new signage which were delivered last September in the first stage of the refurbishment.

The station was originally built in 1854 to serve visitors to the nearby spectacular Crystal Palace building relocated from the Hyde Park Great Exhibition of 1851.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘As outlined in my election manifesto I am determined to do as much as I can to make it easier for all Londoners including disabled and older people and parents with buggies to use our transport network. The improvements at Crystal Palace will benefit many thousands of passengers every year and my accessibility action plan sets out my aim for half of the rail network to be step free by the end of the decade.’

Transport Minister Norman Baker said: ‘Improvements like these make a real difference to those using the railways. Opening up access at stations and providing step-free routes can make a real difference to wheelchair users and other with limited mobility, as well as parents with buggies. And everyone feels the benefit of taking a train from stations with improved facilities and layout.

Mike Stubbs, Director, London Overground, said: ‘These new lifts have transformed accessibility and updated an historic Victorian station into a 21st century asset. It will benefit families with young children and disabled people as well as bring a much improved journey to thousands of south Londoners every day.’

Faryal Velmi, Director, Transport for All (TfA), said: ‘This is brilliant news for everyone who has campaigned for a step-free Crystal Palace station; in particular disabled and older Londoners who will be able to finally use the station – some of us for the first time.

‘However there is no doubt that the lift will benefit everyone, from people travelling with children or carrying shopping, to businesses in Crystal Palace who will see increased footfall as the area is opened up to more people. TfA believes that this is another step along the way to equal access to transport for disabled and older people in the Capital.’

Four other London Overground stations are also currently being made step-free following Transport for London (TfL) securing £5m from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Access for All scheme – Hampstead Heath, Kensal Rise, South Tottenham and Blackhorse Road.

As part of the Mayor of London’s vision for radically improving the accessibility of the city’s transport network, a total of 28 London Underground and London Overground stations will be made step free over the next 10 years.

A huge range of further improvements are also being made, including the introduction of manual boarding ramps, wide aisle gates, tactile paving and raised platform sections to give level access to the train. The on-system and online information TfL offer passengers is also being overhauled to help disabled passengers plan and make journeys in the easiest way possible.