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Plans for the transformation of a major railway station used by millions of people have moved a step closer to becoming reality. London Liverpool Street Station connects more than 100 million people each year and commuters claim a redevelopment is ‘overdue’.
New plans propose increasing the size of the concourse of the mainline station and the overcrowded Tube ticket hall. This will improve customer experience as well as improve step-free access to all main-line and Tube platforms.
The latest proposals were drawn up after original plans were objected. Nearly 250,000 people have engaged with the new plans and over 1,800 station users have responded with comments.
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Ellie, from Chelmsford, was among those who provided opinions in a consultation. They said: “Accessibility needs to be at the heart of the changes. It’s a very busy station and often if feels like disabled people’s needs are forgotten.”
Among the changes will be eight new lifts to make platforms and the London Underground more accessible. There will also be an increase in the number of escalators from four to eight.
Jules, from Colchester, added: “Long overdue. Patients for Great Ormond Street Hospital coming into the station are unable to continue their journey by tube due to no lift or flat access.”
There will be new landmark entrances on Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate and Exchange Square; more ticket barriers to reduce queuing and additional waiting lounges and new toilets, including family facilities on all levels of the station to bring much needed relief to travellers.
Robin Dobson, Group Property Director for Network Rail Property, commented: “We have listened and acted upon extensive feedback from the public, from passengers and from wider stakeholders. Our new proposals have had an overwhelmingly positive response which is fantastic news for the hundreds of millions of people who want to continue using one of the world’s great stations.
“It’s a vote of confidence in our approach to restore the station’s status as world leading. To regenerate our facilities and deal with inadequate capacity, both of which continue to frustrate our passengers.
“With such a complex project and with multiple stakeholders, there will always be objections, but the overwhelming response has been it’s time to get on with making Liverpool Street station the best it can be. That’s why this support from passengers is crucial to us. It’s from the people who use the station day in, day out, week in, week out. We will of course continue to review all the comments in detail before submitting an application.”
The complete renovation is expected to take six years with the main improvements occurring over the first four.
