South London residents called for stations to be made properly step-free, and Dulwich MP Helen Hayes highlighted the issue in Parliament.
Peckham Rye Station will receive funding for some safety improvements, after the News highlighted the concerns of local station users following the announcement by Network Rail that the station would no longer be getting a £40 million step free upgrade.
Local residents claimed that the lack of step free access at the station had forced elderly residents into the indignity of sliding down the stairs on their bottoms.
Terry Titheradge, 75, who lives behind the station, told us he used to take the train to Bromley to visit his family several times a week but now has to cough up a hefty taxi fare after an accident left his wife wheelchair bound two years ago.
He added: “I recently witnessed a lady in a wheelchair get off the train at Platform 1. She was lost and didn’t know what to do.
“She got out of her chair and a young man carried the chair down for her while she came down 40 odd steps on her bottom, hanging onto the handrail. It was shocking.”
Network Rail told residents at a meeting in October that the station would be getting a £9 million grant, a much smaller sum which will not cover the cost of installing lifts, but better than nothing.
Then we looked at the state of the lifts at Herne Hill station after a local resident told us that it sometimes takes him five hours to commute to Greenwich because of how unreliable they are.
@southwarknews Nathan from Herne Hill says his commute can take up to FIVE HOURS? ——————— His travel options are limited when the lifts pack up because so few stations in the area have step-free access. It comes after £65 million earmarked for step-free upgrades was not spent in the five years to 2024, as revealed by the Disability News Service. Southeastern, which controls the station, said: “We’re really sorry the lift at Herne Hill is out of service. The issue was caused by water getting into the lift shaft, and our team is working with contractors to get it fixed as quickly as possible. “The good news is that the repair doesn’t need scaffolding, which means it should take less time. If everything goes to plan when contractors are on site this Friday, we’re hopeful the lift will be working again by the weekend. “We know how essential step-free access is, and we’re especially sorry for the impact this has had on passengers who’ve faced long diversions or had to rely on alternative transport. Our lifts are remotely monitored so we can respond to issues as swiftly as possible when they arise and we are doing everything we can to get the lift back up and running as soon as possible.” #hernehill #transport #southwark #news #london
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And over in Loughborough Junction, a coordinated community campaign is also calling for that station to be rebuilt, amid concerns that the existence of one narrow flight of stairs could one day lead to a serious accident if several trains full of commuters have to be evacuated at once.
Dulwich MP Helen Hayes even raised the subject in Parliament in September.
“The lack of step-free access at our local railway stations causes major problems for many of my constituents,” the MP said, highlighting Loughborough Junction and West Dulwich as particularly bad examples.
South London is particularly uneven when it comes to station step free access. Will 2026 be the year when we see more of a concerted effort to address this inequality in public transport once and for all?
