Wednesday, September 15, 2021
It's been a bonanza year for delivering step-free access at TfL stations.
2020 was quite good.
| Tube (2020) | TfL Rail (2020) |
79) Mill Hill East
80) Cockfosters | Hanwell
Iver
Langley
Taplow |
2021 has been even better.
| Tube (2021 so far) | TfL Rail (2021 so far) |
81) Amersham
82) Debden
83) Ealing Broadway
84) Ickenham
85) Whitechapel
86) Wimbledon Park | Acton Main Line
West Ealing
West Drayton
Southall
Hayes & Harlington |
Hayes and Harlington went step-free yesterday, which means there's only one more TfL Rail station to finish and that's Ilford.
As for the tube, when Amersham's lifts opened in February the proportion of step-free tube stations hit exactly 30% (81/270). Last month Wimbledon Park lifted that to 31.9% (86/270), and next week it gets even better.
| Tube (next week) |
87) Battersea Power Station
88) Nine Elms |
Two new fully-accessible Northern Line stations will bring us to 32.4% (88/272).
Also, if I've counted properly, it'll tip the proportion of step-free stations on the tube map over 50% for the first time. Today it's only 49.9% (251/503) but next week it'll be 50.1% (253/505), i.e, more step-free stations than not. Counting stations on the tube map is somewhat subjective, and even being one out would tweak the result, but by my calculations the Northern line extension is the tipping point. Interestingly we'd have got there sooner if Thameslink hadn't been added to the tube map - I think Southall would have done it.
And the year's not over yet.
| Tube (rest of 2021) |
??) Osterley
??) Sudbury Hill
??) Harrow-on-the-Hill |
Three more tube stations are due to go step-free before the end of 2021, and whichever's third will mark the point at which one-third of tube stations are step-free (91/272 = 33.5%). It's nowhere near enough, but four years ago it was only 28% so we're getting there.
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