Leatherhead station, on the outer edge of the southwest M25, is to get step-free access with a new footbridge and lifts being added to the station.
(c) Network Rail / Planning documents
The station has two platforms, with the main entrance on the western side and a second smaller entrance on the eastern side next to the secondary car park. The station sits at the top of a slope, and while there’s a subway linking the platforms, step-free access from one side to the other requires people to walk down to the nearby road and back up again.
As part of the Department for Transport’s Railway Access for All strategy, Network Rail is now starting work on adding a footbridge and lifts to the station. They ruled out adapting the existing subway as its too narrow to meet modern accessibility widths for passing wheelchairs. As a result, they’ve opted to build a new footbridge with stairs and lifts.
The lifts are full-size 16-person capacity models, which are large enough for large wheelchairs and will also designed to allow people to go in one side and out the other without needing to reverse back out.
The £6.2 million project will begin at the end of January 2024 and is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2025. The existing subway will still be accessible to the travelling passengers and will be retained following completion of the scheme.
Bam Nuttall, who has built lifts at several stations around London in recent years, is carrying out the construction project.
Hi there. Is the bicycle parking bays on Platform 2 side, open for parking or will that be moved/closed? There is no signage to say that will happen but I am the only bike parking there now and I wonder if I have missed something.