Request ID: FOI-1398-2122 Date published: 22 October 2021
You asked
I'm emailing in response the chain of communications I've had with xxxx xxxx regarding accessibility of Elephant and Castle train station. They suggested I contact this address to get information about the procedures behind select stations for work on making stations accessible across London. I'm interested if there was any publicly available resource I could access behind the work done on selecting/prioritising stations for work. I'm interested in E&CS in particular as this is a station we'd ideally like access to and from though it wasn't selected under the initial scheme.
We answered
TfL Ref: 1398-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 28 September 2021 asking for information about accessible stations.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked for: information about the procedures behind selecting stations for work on making stations accessible across London. I'm interested if there was any publicly available resource I could access behind the work done on selecting/prioritising stations for work. I'm interested in E&CS in particular as this is a station we'd ideally like access to and from though it wasn't selected under the initial scheme.
Improvements to the accessibility of the Tube network are made via a variety of methods. The Mayor’s 2016 step-free access programme as outlined in your correspondence with our customer service centre is just one of these. We are also able to improve step-free access when we carry out major capacity enhancement work (e.g. King’s Cross St. Pancras, Victoria), when we open new stations (such as Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms), when we interface with external large scale projects (e.g. HS2, Crossrail)and when we work with third party developers to deliver improved station infrastructure. There is also the DfT’s ‘Access for All programme’ which can be used to deliver improved accessibility for LU-served stations which are not operated by and/or owned by TfL. While it is true that Elephant and Castle did not meet the criteria for the step-free access programme, we are working with third party developers to greatly improve access via this latter category.
We plan to reconstruct the Northern line end of the station to provide escalator and lift access to the Northern line platforms via a new basement level ticket hall. This will be constructed within a major redevelopment of the former shopping centre site. This work is at a very early stage and is partially dependent on funding.
The Bakerloo line is not in scope for this stage of the project as the platforms are too far away and accessed by means of a separate ticket hall and via some small staircases. To overcome these various low level staircases would be extremely complex, disruptive and expensive. However we do have plans (which again, depend on funding) to make some modifications that would enable the Bakerloo line platforms to be made step-free in the future, should the Bakerloo line extension ever go ahead.
With regard to the prioritisation criteria for the Mayor’s 2016 step-free access programme, there is no ‘publicly available resource’ along the lines of your request. Stations were prioritised following a number of internal workshops and the criteria used were as follows:
1. Strategic importance
Distance to nearest step-free station
Local employment, population
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) / Interchange opportunities
Transport interchange and frequency nearby
2. Scheme Design / Deliverability
Deliverable within the five year Plan
Quality of step-free access
Construction access, likely possessions
Planning consent, listed status
3. Cost
Affordable (average scheme cost of c.£6m once allowed for Programme overheads)
Estimated cost of schemes to optimise delivery
Continue to seek contributions from developers / third parties
4. Measured Benefits
Time saved in monetary terms
Revenue generated from new and existing demand, and wider economic benefits
Improved safety and security
We are now starting work on selecting the next batch of stations that will be made step free as funding becomes available. In November, we will be carrying out a consultation to help us shape our future approach for step-free Tube stations. The consultation will be delivered using our new ‘Have your Say’ consultation platform, in addition to a range of community and stakeholder conversations. We want the people who benefit from step-free access to tell us what features in a step-free Tube station are most important to them. For example, is it more important that a step-free Tube station has an interchange on to another line, or, that it is next to a town centre. This feedback, along with passenger data, transport modelling, third party funding opportunities, design and engineering investigations, will help us shape how we prioritise and deliver step-free stations into the future. While we don’t currently have funding to deliver more step-free stations beyond our existing programme, this consultation will help us take action to meet London’s needs as soon as funding becomes available. The consultation will be open between 2 November 2021 and 10 February 2022. We will then analyse what people have told us and share our findings in early summer 2022. The link to the consultation will be available on the TfL website from 2nd November.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
