10.09.12
TfL to retain boarding ramps at Tube stations
Manual boarding ramps introduced on the Tube for the Paralympics are to be retained at key stations, TfL has announced.
The move will improve accessibility for disabled passengers at 16 stations.
The ramps will be retained for the next few months whilst a review of their use is undertaken, considering the benefits to customers, reliability, cost, level of usage and potential locations for future use.
Mike Brown, London Underground managing director, said: “The London 2012 Games has benefitted from the most accessible public transport system of any Olympic or Paralympic Games in history.
“Transport for London has invested hundreds of millions of pounds in making the transport network more accessible in the last few years, with improvements such as new lifts, trains, platform humps, wide aisle gates, tactile paving and audio-visual displays. A total of 66 stations are step-free, all Tube stations have staff trained to assist passengers, and every station on the DLR is step-free.
“However, we know there is more to do. These ramps have proved to be very useful for our customers and we are going to continue to use them after the Games whilst we review whether they are permanently viable.”
The manual boarding ramps are in use at Hammersmith, King’s Cross St Pancras, West Ham, Westminster, Southfields, Wimbledon, Earl’s Court, Fulham Broadway, Stratford, Woodford, Oxford Circus, Queen’s Park, Edgware, Morden, Finchley Central and Stockwell London Underground stations.
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Image c. TfL