The delayed upgrades to Romford station in east London for the Elizabeth line have been completed, Network Rail has announced.
The interior of Romford station has been completely refurbished with increased circulation space and improved access into the station. The existing main entrance underneath the railway bridge has been joined by a new northern entrance from The Battis, the walkway running along the north side of the station. The existing entrances under the rail bridge have also been improved to give a better experience upon entering the station.
The staffed ticket office, originally on the mezzanine level, has been relocated to the ground floor, providing better access to ticketing services and customer information screens.
New lifts also provide access from street level to the mezzanine and platforms 3, 4 and 5 to improve access for Elizabeth line passengers in addition to the ramps that are already in place to all platforms.
TfL’s separate plan to add step-free access to platforms 1 and 2 was withdrawn last year.
The Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said: “This upgrade demonstrates how investment in public transport helps improve and increase sustainable travel options. The new and improved Romford station will help even more people enjoy the transformational Elizabeth line, make journeys easier and more pleasant for commuters. Encouraging people back on to trains is a crucial part of supporting our economic recovery.”
The temporary ticket office that was used during the refurbishment works will now be decommissioned over the autumn, and the refurbishment was carried out by VolkerFitzpatrick.
In related news, Network Rail has also confirmed that Ilford station’s new main entrance with lift access is expected to open in the coming days, effectively completing Network Rail’s station upgrades for the Elizabeth line on the eastern side of London.
Romford is a critical part of the Elizabeth line, as not far from the mainline station is the Elizabeth line control room where all the trains and signalling systems are managed.
The existing ramp and stairs to the platforms
New ticket area, ticket machines and new side entrance.
New lifts from ground to intermediate level for ramps all platforms, and lift up to Elizabeth line platforms.
I got an email from TfL today saying Ilford is now step free.
Let’s now get Ilford Station main entrance finished!
It opened yesterday
Good effective and clean. If only Romford could say the same of its environment and people
Can i get to Romford from worthing sussex quickerdont like forest gate and maryland route
Unfortunately, TfL has closed the ramp entrance to Romford on the south side of the station, right next to the main bus stops. This means that bus-train interchange is going to take longer, because everyone has to go via the ticket hall on the north side of the station, which involves a double-back. Also, since it takes longer to wait for a lift, it will slow things down for people with suitcases or bicycles, because you can no longer get from street to platform entirely by ramp. I can understand that some people may prefer a lift to a ramp, but for a cyclist or an able-bodied passenger with a big suitcase, the lift takes a lot longer than the ramp, especially if you have to wait for the lift twice over because there are other people requiring step-free access who cannot fit in the lift if you take your bicycle. So, one ends up struggling with a bicycle up the stairs from the ticket hall to the subway between the platforms, or squeezing into a crowded lift, rather than being able to breeze up the south ramp.
The lifts are good news for those who may struggle with the ramps, but why has TfL taken away a perfectly good ramp that facilitates bus-train interchange? Why could they not keep both? The only reasonable answer that occurs to me is that the south ramp is vulnerable from a revenue-protection perspective, since it is ungated, and thus reliant on a member of staff standing guard by an Oyster validator. But if Network Rail and/or TfL can afford the significant expense of two lifts and a major remodelling, they could surely have afforded a couple of wide-aisle gates by the south ramp… or even build a little extension/balcony to house a bigger gateline (they have erected new structures to house a line of 3-4 ticket gates at side entrances/exits at nearby stations), which would be more than justified by the convenience of that entrance from a bus-train interchange perspective.
And on that topic, why is there no *bus* departure board anywhere in the railway station itself? Romford has a lot of bus routes spread across multiple stops, with many destinations served by more than one bus route (sometimes spread across more than one bus stop). Many times, I have arrived at Romford station by train, and then had to scurry back and forth between multiple bus stops to ascertain which bus will get me to my final destination soonest.
This is a Network Rail station, not a TfL one.
When will the express Liverpool Street to Shenfield service when the train bypasses some of the minor stations, resume? This service was halted about 9 months ago. Any resumption would also be an effective use of the longer carriage trains and as one may recall allows more trains during rush hour.
I got on a train yesterday that only called at maryland Ilford Stratford and liverpool street
Since when is Romford in East London? Last time I checked it was still in Essex.
You need to check more often – it’s been part of the London Borough of Havering since 1965.