UK first as incline lift opens at Greenford Tube station
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Incline lift travels on gradient alongside escalator and stairs
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Greenford becomes 67th step-free Tube station
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Tower
Hill and Vauxhall Tube stations set to become step-free next spring,
with more than half of TfL’s rail and Underground stations step-free
by 2018
Customers
at Greenford Underground station are enjoying an innovative new lift as
the Tube station becomes step-free for the first
time since it opened in 1947.
The project is a first for London Underground (LU) and the wider UK rail industry, as the special ‘incline’ lift travels on a gradient alongside the escalator and stairs. This innovative lift is cheaper to install, as it saves the cost of excavating a lift shaft, can utilise an existing escalator space and is 50 per cent more efficient than a standard lift as it only uses half as much power to run.
Ealing
Council and LU have been working closely together to deliver the new
lift, and its opening makes Greenford the 67th step-free
station on the London Underground network. Earlier this year, the Mayor
brought forward a target for more than half of stations on Transport
for London’s (TfL’s) underground and rail network to be step-free by
2018.
Isabel
Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: "The Mayor has set an
ambitious target of ensuring that more than half of TfL’s
stations are step-free by 2018. This lift is the first of its kind in
the UK and a great example of one of the many innovative projects now
underway to achieve that. We’ve got one of the most accessible public
transport networks of any major city, but more
needs to be done to ensure people can get around our city easily.
That’s why we’re working hard to install a raft of measures, such as new
lifts, raised platform sections and low-floor trains at TfL Tube and
rail stations across the Capital.”
Although
the new lift is not suitable for every location across the Tube
network, similar lifts are already being installed as part
of the Crossrail stations at Farringdon and Liverpool Street. TfL is
also examining where else they could be introduced on the Tube in the
future.
David
Waboso, London Underground’s Director of Capital Programmes, said: “The
new incline lift is spacious, quick, and provides much-needed
step-free access to our customers at Greenford. It is cheaper to
install and cheaper to run and I am hopeful we can introduce this
innovation elsewhere on the Tube network in the future.”
Ealing
Council’s Cabinet Member for transport and the environment, councillor
Bassam Mahfouz, said: “It's fantastic news that residents
in Greenford and this part of west London now have step-free access to
the Tube.
“It
will mean the world of difference for thousands of local residents,
especially those who are disabled or travelling with young
children, some of whom will now be able to access London for the first
time in their lives because of this new lift.
“I
am delighted that we've been able to work with TfL to deliver a UK
first with this innovative incline lift, delivered at a fraction
of the original prices considered – a sign of more to come."
The new lift forms part of a wider project to improve Greenford Tube station, which has also seen a new escalator installed and staircase constructed. The men’s toilet on the platform has also been replaced with a unisex accessible toilet and more lighting and better signage has been installed.
Ruth
Owen OBE, Chief Executive of Whizz-Kidz said: ‘We welcome Transport for
London’s continuing programme
of network improvements. It’s encouraging to see more step free Tube
stations being introduced, which will help wheelchair users to travel
more assuredly, safely, and – importantly – independently. Whizz-Kidz’s
London based Ambassadors have been calling for
better accessibility to the Underground, and we’re pleased TfL
continues to make progress in ensuring that more than half of TfL’s
stations are step-free by 2018.’
Around
40 more Underground and Overground stations will become step-free over
the next 10 years as part of a £326m investment, which
includes funding from the Mayor and London Underground. This will
include major stations such as Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road,
Vauxhall and Victoria and those delivered through the Step-Free Access
Partnership Fund.
By
2018, when the projects at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road will be
complete and Crossrail opens, customers from Greenford
will have a step-free rail route into the heart of the west end, with
interchanges to Crossrail and the Jubilee and Northern lines.
The
number of journeys made by step-free routes each year is expected to
almost treble, from 77 million now to 227 million in 2023.
NOW SEE THE LATEST ON THE NEW FOCUS FLICKR SITE:
Martin Arrand recently spent a week in Cornwall but found time to hop back over the border into Devon and the City of Plymouth. However, do not be fooled by the bus image above as Stagecoach absorbed the First Group operations a short while before Martin's visit. A set of images can now be viewed in an album by clicking here
NOW SEE THE LATEST ON THE NEW FOCUS FLICKR SITE:
Martin Arrand recently spent a week in Cornwall but found time to hop back over the border into Devon and the City of Plymouth. However, do not be fooled by the bus image above as Stagecoach absorbed the First Group operations a short while before Martin's visit. A set of images can now be viewed in an album by clicking here
