Network Rail has completed a £6m project to improve accessibility at Herne Bay railway station in Kent.

Included in the project were the provision of two new lifts and a footbridge station to make the station much easier to use for customers with wheelchairs, limited mobility, heavy luggage, bicycles, or pushchairs.

The project took from the end of November 2023 until March 2025 and was made possible through the Department for Transport’s Access for All scheme.

Included in the work was the installation of two new, 16-person lifts that provide step-free access to each platform from the station’s main entrance. To supplement the footbridge, the station’s existing subway has been retained and remains open to customers.

Herne Bay is the latest station in Kent and southeast London to have accessibility upgrades under the Department for Transport’s Access for All scheme.

Others include Canterbury East in August 2021, St Mary Cray in January 2022, Chatham in November 2022, Bexley in April 2023, Petts Wood in December 2023, and Plumstead in November 2024. Shortlands is due to be completed in the next few months.

“It’s great to see the lifts now open for our customers at Herne Bay, ensuring more people can travel independently and with confidence. The timing is perfect with Easter and the busy summer season ahead for this popular station. This scheme supports the strong increase in the number of passengers with accessibility needs choosing rail travel. Encouragingly, the majority are now travelling as turn-up-and-go customers, without needing to pre-arrange assistance. We know we still have much more to do to create a fully accessible railway. That is why we are dedicated to working with our Alliance partner, Network Rail, to bring forward more Access for All schemes, alongside our complimentary station work to provide more accessible toilets and other customer facilities. To provide easier access from platform to train, we are also working to replace our ageing Metro trains with a more modern and accessible fleet.”

Steve White, Southeastern’s Managing Director