Thameslink welcomes start of lift construction at Catford station

A £3.7 million project is under way to install new lifts at Catford station in South London that will provide Thameslink customers with step-free access to both platforms. This will make the station much easier to use for passengers with mobility impairments, parents with young children and people with heavy luggage.

Network Rail is building the two lifts and their connecting walkways with funding from the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme.

The main construction work has now started with the assembly of the steel frames for the two 11-metre-tall lift shafts. The lifts and walkways, which will be covered by the station’s extended CCTV system, are due to be open for passenger use by the end of October 2022.

A temporary walkway has been built to maintain access for passengers to Platform 1 during the work.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “We want to create a more accessible and inclusive railway, where everyone has the confidence to travel no matter what their need for assistance, so we’re delighted to see building work well under way at Catford after our successful bid for government funding.

“These lifts will be welcomed by everyone who finds it difficult or impossible to use the stairs. Network Rail have planned the building work carefully to cause as little disturbance as possible.

“Meanwhile, passengers returning to our services can travel confidently, knowing our trains and stations are cleaned regularly with long-lasting virucides and the air on our air-conditioned trains is refreshed every six minutes.”

Network Rail Route Director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, said: “Our railway is for everyone and improvements like this make a real difference to our passengers. It's great to see these works progressing, they're a step in the right direction, improving accessibility at this busy station."

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Notes to editors

Access for All

The Access for All Programme was created in 2006 as part of the Department for Transport’s Inclusive Transport Strategy to deliver accessible routes at stations most in need across Great Britain. Catford is one of 73 stations across the country chosen to benefit from the current £300 million funding round, which runs until 2024.