Northern Line Extension grand opening marred by station accessibility issues

22 Sep, 2021 By

Questions have been raised over the accessibility of the new Northern line stations as part of the line's extension (NLE) which opened earlier this week.

Accessibility campaigner and Transport for All chair Alan Benson highlighted particular challenges with the lifts at Battersea Power Station station during a series of tweets.

He said these are “way too small”, making it impossible for wheelchair users to turn around so they have to either reverse in or out.

“These feel like a squeezed-in afterthought,” he said on Twitter. “It's going to be worse when they're busy. So incredibly disappointing.”

Benson added the lift doors at Battersea don’t stay open long enough, explaining that the “deep entranceway” to the lift meant the doors had already closed by the time the last user had left and before he could enter.

He described this as a “dreadful design flaw and unnecessary in a new station”.

In addition to this, he said he had to get off the train backwards at Battersea because the gap between the train and platform is “just a little big to do it forwards comfortably”.

Railway engineer Gareth Dennis said it is "really disappointing to see that accessibility appears to have taken a backseat when it comes to the design of the new Northern line extension".

However Benson did add that at Nine Elms station the lift to platform was “easy to find, quiet, and a decent size”.

He also posted a photo of him demonstrating level access at the station.

Transport for London (TfL) said that all of the lifts across the new Northern Line Extension stations comply with EN81-70, which is the industry wide standard that defines elevator controls, distances, dimensions, contrasts, and accessories that facilitate access for people using wheelchairs or walking aids.

Northern Line Extension project director Martin Gosling said: “We’re sorry to hear of concerns around accessibility at our two new step-free stations, Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, and are urgently addressing the feedback as making travel easier for Londoners with accessibility needs is one of our top priorities.

“We are making changes to ensure the lift doors stay open for longer and are reviewing signage across the stations. We know how important step-free access is, so installed multiple lifts at Battersea Power Station to ensure there was always one available in the event that a lift is taken out of service.

“We’re sorry we didn’t get things right first time but would like to reassure our customers that we’re taking feedback on board and are working hard to make improvements.”

Formed by 3km of new tunnels and new stations at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, the extension will connect passengers onto the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line at Kennington.

The opening is the culmination of six years of construction delivered by Ferrovial and Laing O’Rourke working in joint venture, under the name of Flo, to design and construct the new link for Transport for London (TfL).

The new line was originally expected to cost £1bn – with funding delivered by financing based on fees levied on developers at Battersea and Nine Elms and increased business rates – and was planned to open in December 2020.

However, the delay in opening to autumn 2021 was revealed by TfL in 2018 as a result of design changes in the oversite development at Battersea. The cost in 2016 had risen to £1.26bn but the impact of the Battersea design changes on costs – and who will foot the bill – has not been disclosed.

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