1. When was Harold Wood station expected to be completed under initial crossrail plans? 2. How delayed is step free access to this station at this point? 3. When can step free access be expected at Harold Wood? 4. How long has lift 8 been broken at Stratford station? 5. How many hours have been spent on repairing this lift (separating diagnostic time and repair time)? 6. When can customers expect this lift to be mended? 7. How long has the westbound Jubilee line lift at Westminster station been broken? 8. How many hours have been spent on repairing this lift (separating diagnostic time and repair time)? 9. When can customers expect this lift to be mended? 10. In reference to your response to questions 6 and 9, what has caused the delays thus far and how far is repair a priority? What is being prioritised over these repairs? 11. At present, how many stations, meant to be step free, are not due to faulty lifts, maintenance or ongoing works (such as crossrail stations).

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TfL Ref: 2361-1920

Thank you for your request received by us on 14 October 2019 asking for information about step-free access at various Transport For London (TfL) 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.

We are committed to increasing the amount of step-free stations across the network to make the Tube more accessible.  In December 2016, the Mayor announced a £200m programme to provide step-free access at around 30 stations over the next five years.  By the end of March 2022, 40% of the Tube network will have step-free access.

Step-free will be provided at every TfL Rail station; new lifts and footbridges are being installed to provide step-free access and better walking routes.

You asked:

1.When was Harold Wood station expected to be completed under initial crossrail plans?

2. How delayed is step free access to this station at this point?

Harold Wood works including step-free access, were expected to be completed by April 2016.

Based on the original projections for completion of works at Harold Wood following the appointment of British technology based construction and engineering company Costain, as well as early programme development, step-free access at Harold Wood is nearly four years later than originally expected.

3. When can step free access be expected at Harold Wood?

Network Rail is undertaking the works and are currently aiming for 8 December 2019 for the lifts at Harold Wood station to be open.

4. How long has lift 8 been broken at Stratford station?

As of 11 November 2019, Lift Eight has been broken for 43 days.

5. How many hours have been spent on repairing this lift (separating diagnostic time and repair time)?

We are currently awaiting specialist parts to enable the repair following the diagnostic undertaken. This doesn’t answer the question regarding how many hours have been spent on diagnostic time. The answer to question eight gives the time for that lift – can we provide the same for this one?

6. When can customers expect this lift to be mended?

Please see our response to Question Three.

7. How long has the westbound Jubilee line lift at Westminster station been broken?

Lift Five was broken for 19 days.

8. How many hours have been spent on repairing this lift (separating diagnostic time and repair time)?

Diagnostic works were ongoing as part of the repair process. On a cumulative scale for all efforts involved, this would add to a total of three days for repair, six days of fault finding, a seven day lead for mechanical parts and three days of testing prior to being returned to service.

9. When can customers expect this lift to be mended?

We can advise that the lift was returned to passenger service on 18 October 2019.

10. In reference to your response to questions 6 and 9, what has caused the delays thus far and how far is repair a priority? What is being prioritised over these repairs?

In reference to questions six and nine, different causes were behind the delays in both instances. For question six, considerable mechanical damage had occurred and product obsolescence was causing delays. In reference to question nine, there was a particularly intermittent fault on very specialised components within the lift control system, which meant assistance from Global experts was also required.

11. At present, how many stations, meant to be step free, are not due to faulty lifts, maintenance or ongoing works (such as crossrail stations).

TfL Rail operate a turn up and go service and pre-booked assistance at TfL stations. Staff are available at each station from before the first train until after the last train. We advise speaking to a member of staff for any assistance with your journey.

The following TfL Rail stations are Step Free Accessible:

Abbey Wood
Brentwood
Burnham
Chadwell Heath
Forest Gate
Gidea Park
Goodmayes
Manor Park
Maryland
Seven Kings
Shenfield
Stratford

Harold Wood is due to be Step Free Accessible in December 2019.

Iver, Langley and Taplow stations are due to be Step Free Accessible in early 2020

The following TfL Rail stations are due to be Step Free Accessible by the end of 2020. (The two lists need to be formatted in the same way, spaced out as below or without spaces as above)

Acton Main Line
Ealing Broadway
Hanwell
Hayes & Harlington
Southall
West Ealing
Ilford
Romford

Lifts faults are monitored by TfL Rail and are attended by an engineer to resolve any faults.

Since the beginning of April 2019, lift availability across TfL stations that support step-free access, has been 98.8%.

When any time step-free access is not maintained at a TfL station, staff are able to assist passengers with their journeys to ensure they can reach their destination.

In the meantime, please also see the information we publish on accessibility, such as detailed maps for step-free journeys and avoiding stairsg and getting help from staff at:

https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/

Finally, I’d be interested in your equality statement and pledged approach to your disabled customers and how this compares to the above.

Please see our Action Plan provided in the Action on Equality objectives that can be found via the following page to our website: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/corporate-and-social-responsibility/equality-and-inclusion

In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.

Finally, the following links regarding the Disabled Persons Freedom Pass concessionary travel scheme may be of interest at:

https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedom-pass/disabled-persons-freedom-pass/eligibility

https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedom-pass/disabled-persons-freedom-pass/discretionary-disabled-freedom-pass

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

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London

 

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