Press release —
New lift makes Hertford North station fully step-free
Network Rail has issued the following press release:
Passengers at Hertford North station are now benefiting from step-free access to all platforms after the completion of a major accessibility improvement scheme.
On Friday 6 November representatives from Network Rail, BAM, station operator Great Northern and the community came together with Josh Dean, MP for Hertford and Stortford, and Peter Ruffles, former councillor and long time campaigner, to mark the opening of a new lift serving platform 1.
The lift provides a step-free route to the platform, making journeys easier for disabled passengers and people with limited mobility, as well as those travelling with pushchairs, luggage or young children. Platforms 2 and 3 already had step-free access, meaning the entire station is now accessible without using stairs.
The improvement has been delivered through the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme, which is designed to remove barriers to rail travel and help passengers move more independently around stations. More than 200 stations across Britain’s rail network have been upgraded through the programme.
Nicola Butterworth, Network Rail senior sponsor, said:
“We’re delighted that the new lift at Hertford North is now open and passengers are benefiting from step-free access across the station.
“This is an important improvement which will make a real difference to people who previously found using platform 1 difficult, helping to make the railway easier and more accessible.
“We’d like to thank passengers and the local community for their patience while we carried out the work, as well as our partners who have helped us deliver the scheme.”
The opening comes as passengers using Hertford North are also set to benefit from more frequent trains. Great Northern has announced that from Monday 14 December it will double its off-peak service between Moorgate and Hertford North, with four trains an hour from Monday to Saturday improving connectivity across North London and Hertfordshire.
Antony Merlyn, accessibility engagement manager at Great Northern, said:
“Hertford North is one of our busier stations, used by more than one million people every year, and the new lift and increase in off-peak service is fantastic news for the community and our passengers.
“We look forward to welcoming new customers at Hertford North who previously couldn’t use the station. Lifts benefit everyone who finds stairs a barrier, and for some disabled passengers this project has the potential to be life-changing.”
ENDS
Topics
Categories
Regions
For more information, contact the press office on 0203 750 2031.
GTR
GTR operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
- Thameslink – cross-London services between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks
- Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
- Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
- Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria
www.southernrailway.com, www.thameslinkrailway.com, www.gatwickexpress.com, www.greatnorthernrail.com
About DFTO
DFTO works with train operators and Network Rail to lay the foundations for Great British Railways (GBR) - working together to deliver a better railway for everyone in Britain. Ahead of the establishment of GBR in 2027, DFTO is responsible for bringing privately operated passenger services into public ownership, ensuring stability, accountability and continuity for customers and taxpayers. The group’s current train operating companies are: c2c, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, GTR, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and WM Trains. DFTO now runs 12,000 rail services every day and delivers over one billion customer journeys across its networks each year.
