Network Rail has announced that it is to upgrade accessibility at Shortlands station in Bromley, South London.
Work to install three lifts and a new footbridge with staircases spanning the platforms will begin on Monday 15 January and is due to be completed by spring 2025. The upgrade will make it possible for passengers with mobility or visual impairments, and those travelling with pushchairs, bicycles and heavy luggage to move around the station without encountering steps.
The project will make the station step-free for the first time since it opened in the 1950s. It will also include refreshing the lighting and adding CCTV to make passengers feel safer and more comfortable, particularly at night. Engineers will also install a new emergency staircase which will provide an additional way out when the station.
The Department for Transport's ‘Access for All' scheme is funding the work, which will cost £8.5 million.
Shortlands was one of several stations to become stoma-friendly last year, making it more accessible.
Hodan Hassan, Network Rail's commercial scheme sponsor, said: “It's really great to see the investment being made to make stations fully accessible in the Kent region and we welcome the continued investment from the DfT and continue to work closely with local councils to provide the best experience for all rail users.
“We'd like to reassure passengers and local residents that most of the work will take place over weekdays during daytime hours and will not affect the train services during the week.”
Neil Smoker, Southeastern's station manager for Shortlands, said: “We're always wanting to do more for our customers, as part of our drive towards a better, more reliable, and more sustainable railway.
“We'll see the accessibility of Shortlands station transformed by Network Rail over the next year, with the new lifts and footbridge set to make a huge difference to everyone who uses the station, whether that's people using pushchairs or wheelchairs, bikes and those with heavy luggage. Our customers will also welcome the planned security improvements that will ensure Shortlands station remains a safe place to travel to and from.”
Closed and locked Toilets and Waiting Rooms.
Please include opening these facilities PRIOR to refurb.
Glad some stations are getting lifts. Grove park are not getting any. So I can’t travel back to grove park cause I can’t do the ramps or stairs due to breathing problems
Will the upgrade include toilets?
Well it’s all about levelling up after all the south had never been neglected
Really, we have been waiting 9 years for lifts to be installed to give our station full access. It only handles 3..5 million passengers a year! I am in the so called south.