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Thursday 12 Nov 2020

Lift off: Appeal to passengers as Clapham Junction’s lifts get an upgrade

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

Work is about to start on upgrading lifts at Clapham Junction station, to take advantage of the temporary drop in passenger numbers.

The much-needed project will make the 10 lifts at the station more reliable - but it does mean there will be a rolling programme of lift closures for two weeks.

Work will start on Monday 16 November and take place until Friday 27 November (excluding the weekend of 21-22 November).

For passengers, this means:

• One lift will be taken out of service each day from Monday 16 November to Friday 27 November
• Anyone who needs step-free access should book assisted travel with South Western Railway, Southern Railway or TfL      Overground

• Passengers who require step free access are advised to check before they travel, and if necessary go to Vauxhall,     London Waterloo or alternative stations nearby with step free access. If there are no alternative options, our teams will provide assistance via a taxi to the nearest step free station to minimise the impact for passengers.

Cem Davis, interim head of route stations, Network Rail Southern region said: “We appreciate that all our passengers want seamless journeys, whether they are carrying heavy bags, pushchairs or use wheelchairs, and while there is no good time to take our lifts out of service, we’ve moved this work forward to take advantage of this quieter period when there are fewer passengers travelling.

“There will be extra staff to support people who require assistance and where possible, we encourage them to pre-book their travel though the assistance helpline.”

Michael Adlington, accessibility and inclusion manager for South Western Railway said: “We realise some customers will be impacted by the closure of the lifts at Clapham Junction and there is never a good time to take a lift out of service.

“Carrying out the work while the network is quieter will mean fewer customers are affected and will improve the reliability of the lifts for years to come.

“More staff will be on hand at each platform affected, however, we are urging all our customers who need to use a lift at Clapham Junction to check before they travel as it may mean adding extra time to journeys.”

Andy Leister, head of stations at Southern, said: "Our teams are briefed in readiness to support passengers while this essential work is carried out. If possible, people in need of assistance should book in advance via our free helpline 0800 138 1016."