One of the entrances to Clapham Junction station is about to get an upgrade to add more space for ticket barriers and better toilets for passengers. The Brighton Yard entrance, at the bridge level off St John’s Hill, is being remodelled to allow for wider gatelines to be installed to improve accessibility and reduce overall congestion.
Revamped entrance (c) Network Rail
Works have already started, with repainting of the overbridge and safety improvements, but Network Rail is about to start work on the second of a three-phase upgrade, and that’ll mean changes to the entrance building.
Other improvements are also being made to the toilets and baby changing facilities for passengers, including those with restricted mobility. In essence, the existing toilets will be demolished, and the space created, along with the space where the ticket machines are will be opened up to create a much wider space for ticket barriers.
The station will end up with eight ticket gates (6 standard + 2 wide) compared to five gates at the moment (3+2).
At the same time, the large shop to the left of the main entrance will be rebuilt as the new toilets, along with two fully accessible toilets/baby changing spaces. The new ladies loos will be boosted to 8 cubicles from just 3 cubicles at the moment, and the mens will double to four cubicles, plus urinals.
To make space for all this, the ticket office in the Brighton Yard entrance will close and will be used as retail space to replace the space that will become the new toilets. The ticket office at the St John’s Hill entrance will remain open as an alternative for people who still buy tickets.
The third phase of work will start in December when Network Rail will be replacing the staircases on platforms 13 and 14 with a wider set of stairs that will be a third wider than the current set. In effect turning two sets of stairs into three sets of stairs, and also the new stairs will be slightly longer so less steep to make them easier to use. There’s already a lift on the platforms, so no changes there.
Overall, the project will cost £15.5 million, as part of a wider £35 million upgrade for the station.
Adrian Gogay, Network Rail, senior sponsor, said: “Clapham Junction station is one of London’s busiest interchanges, situated at the heart of South West London and we believe it needs to be given some love to make it a more pleasant and enjoyable experience for passengers who are travelling to and from it.”
To think, I remember when that bridge was a forgotten, collapsing structure only providing inter-platform transfer, nothing ran from P1/2 other than the Kenny Bell and the carriage sidings were just that – assembling the trains that then went into Waterloo.
How times change (for the better)
I thought there were plans to rebuild the entire station?
More needs to be done as follows. They need to add more pink oyster readers on different platforms which currently are only available on overground platforms 1 & 2. They should move trains going towards Brompton on platform 17 so its nearer to platforms 1 & 2 so one doesn’t have to make a mad rush. There needs to be more loos available on the bridge that leads to all the platforms as currently theres only 1 set right at the end.