Passengers in south London will soon be the beneficiaries of an upcoming £8.9m accessibility investment package at Motspur Park station, with plans to install new lifts and walkways amongst other upgrades.
This Network Rail project is coming in collaboration with South Western Railway and the London Borough of Merton Council, with teams working to install a new step-free footbridge as a result of the Government’s Access for All programme, with funding coming from the Department for Transport.
David Wilby, SWR’s route development manager, said:
“The new footbridge at Motspur Park will be important for all of our customers, especially those with reduced mobility who require lifts to gain access to the platforms. This is just one of the six multi-million-pound accessibility projects that will be completed at South Western Railway stations by 2024, which is thanks to both a significant investment by the Access for All team and, in this case, the hard work, funding and long periods of campaigning by our stakeholders.”
The new bridge will serve as the replacement for an existing structure, providing passengers with full access to the lifts and stairs for the central platforms, thus improving the conditions and accessibility for passengers who might be less abled, or those travelling with exorbitant amounts of luggage.
Councillor Stephen Alambritis, Cabinet Member for Transport at Merton Council, said:
“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to bring improvements forward for Motspur Park station. Delivering step-free access here will hugely benefit the local community, allowing those with mobility impairments to travel further and more freely as well as bringing safety improvements for all travellers.”
Accompanying this bridge will be new and improved lighting and security cameras throughout the locations of the lifts and bridge, improving the visibility and safety for passengers traversing through the station.
Works are scheduled to begin this coming Friday 31st March and current estimations are for the footbridge construction to be completed in early 2024. Throughout the duration of this project, access for the station will only be available from the west side of the station via Claremont Avenue.
Stephen Hammond MP, Member of Parliament for Wimbledon, said:
“I have campaigned for many years to have step free access at Motspur Park. I am delighted that the work on the new covered footbridge will now start after Easter and should be ready in 2024. I am also pleased that Network Rail and South Western Railways are working to minimise disruption to local residents throughout the works.”
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