Skip to main content

News and updates

15th July 2023 in Community

Step-Free Access at Kew Gardens Station

Summary and update: July 2023

  1. Aim of the project and background
  • To provide a step-free crossing between the eastbound and westbound platforms at Kew Gardens Station.
  • Currently, crossing between platforms requires negotiating the steep steps of the pedestrian footbridge over the line, or the steep steps into and out of a tunnel under it.
  • This is difficult for disabled people, the elderly, and people with young children and buggies and impossible for wheelchair-users. These and other People with Restricted Mobility (PRMs) must go via uphill local streets to the West Park Road road-bridge to cross the railway, a 15 minute, 600m round-trip (see map, page 6, TKS Feasibility Study, link in section 4 below)
  • Alternatively, passengers coming from Central London can stay on the train at Kew (zone 3) and go to Richmond (zone 4), returning from there to the eastbound Kew platform without using steps. This involves extra cost, time, and inconvenience, especially  if train-boarding ramps are needed. Passengers on the east bound side of Kew Gardens Station wanting to go west to Richmond must take an eastbound train one stop to Gunnersbury Station where they cross the platform and take a westbound train back to Richmond via Kew.
  1. Kew Gardens Station(KGS)
  • KGS is owned by Network Rail but managed by Transport for London (TfL)/London Underground (LU). The station is very busy. Total entry and exit passengers (footfall) in 2019 (before the pandemic) were 5.1 million (3.8 Underground + 1.3 Overground). Even in 2021 with the pandemic “stay at home” order still in place until March, annual total footfall at KGS was about 3.1 million.
  • Visitors to The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBGK), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contribute significantly to the high footfall. Pre-pandemic, RBGK had 2.2 million visitors p.a. (2019-2020) and a staff of about 1000. Kew is also home to The National Archives which has a staff of over 500 people and attracts many visitors to its research facilities.
  • By comparison, Teddington Station, also In the Borough of Richmond and serving  a similar resident population (~10,800) to Kew ( ~ 12,000), had a footfall of only 2.2 million in 2019 and has no major visitor attraction like RBGK. Teddington station recently received funds from the DfT’s “Access for All” scheme to build  lifts onto an existing  footbridge, for step-free interchange between platforms. Thus we hope that step free interchange between platforms at KGS can be funded from the same source (see Section 8 below).
  1. Transport infrastructure and people of restricted mobility
  • Disabled people using rail services in the UK increased 1.7-fold between 2012-2020, as shown by the Disabled Persons Railcards issued annually. With national and local policies promoting travel for work or recreation by sustainable transport to reduce air pollution, carbon footprint and meet climate change targets, PRM use KGS is likely to expand further. The transport infrastructure should accommodate their special needs.
  • There is no specific data on the number of PRM’s, or parents with buggies who use KGS but 1.8% of the UK population use a wheelchair. Mobility disability increases with age and 13.5% of local residents are over 65y. 16% of Outer London residents are 25-34 y old with young children requiring buggies. 7.5% of Kew’s population are 4y or less in age.
  1. Feasibility of providing step free interchange between platforms at KGS
  • The Kew Society (TKS) commissioned a study of possible options to provide step-free interchange between platforms in 2019, financed by a Richmond Council Community Fund Grant and TKS funds.
  • A working party was set up comprising 3 TKS Trustees (Roger Mason[Chair]; Stephen Speak; Nora Dennehy) and senior professional transport managers and planners (David Leboff, Principal Station Sponsor, London Underground/TfL; Bethany Cann, Senior Programme Development Manager, Network Rail; Sidonie Forrest-Brown (Senior Transport Planner, LBRuT). The working party produced a brief for the feasibility study and invited railway architects to tender for it. The brief stipulated that all possible options for providing step-free interchange at KGS should be considered in stage 1 of the study. The Working Party selected Trisha Chauhan of TC-A Ltd to carry out the study. The working party selected her option 3 for further development by the architect (stage 2). The working party’s unanimous final choice was her Option 3c, consisting of a 26-person lift on the southern end of each platform connected by an uncovered bridge, with an escape stairway on the east-bound platform.
  • The full study is available at https://www.kewsociety.org/news/step-free-access-at-kew-gardens-station/
  1. Use of the interchange by non-fare paying public
  • Currently, members of the public as well as fare paying passengers can cross the railway line at KGS using the footbridge or tunnel referred to In Option 3c the lifts would be placed on the platforms inside the fare paying area, accessible to passengers.
  • David Leboff, Principal Station Sponsor LU/TfL, informed the Working Party that holders of a Freedom or Disabled Pass would be able to access the platforms and lifts, irrespective of whether they were passengers or not.
  • It may be possible in future to adjust the entry/exit barriers to allow non-passengers, such as parents with buggies, access to the lifts, but this is not guaranteed.
  • Other options (e.g. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8) which allow a step-free platform interchange route, accessible to the public at all hours,  were discussed but rejected. A major reason for rejection is that maintenance and security of the lifts and bridge can only be guaranteed if they are within the TfL leasehold boundary. Additional reasons for rejection are given in the report.
  1. Cost of developing Option 3c
  • London Bridge Associates undertook a high-level cost estimate of Option 3c (page 32 of the Feasibility Study) in 2020. Construction costs were estimated at £6.25m plus design and client costs of £2.0m and railway possession cost of £0.94m, giving a total estimate of £9.2m. Additionally a risk/contingency of £3.7m was recommended. Thus, the overall funding budget recommended is £12.9m.
  1. Impact of the proposed step-free interchange design (option 3c) on local environment
  • KGS and the existing concrete footbridge are grade II listed buildings/structures and are located in a residential area. The design takes this into account and is intended to have minimal visual impact in this heritage setting.
  • TKS submitted the feasibility study to Historic England for review. They commented “ Historic England has no objection to this option (3c) being pursued. We are content for you to continue your negotiations with TfL and LB Richmond without the need to consult Historic England further”. This correspondence has been shared with Nicolette Duckham, Principal Conservation Officer, LBRuT.
  1. Funding of station upgrades to provide step-free access between platforms
  • The Dept for Transport (DfT) “Access for All” main programme, launched in 2006, has delivered accessible routes at more than 150 stations. In London TfL identifies priority stations and nominates them for consideration when funding becomes available periodically from DfT. The next funding round is in 2024.
  • In the last release of Access for All funds, a further 73 stations across the UK were identified for upgrading between 2019-2024. Several local stations were included. Teddington Station was mentioned above. Others include, Barnes, Tooting and Wandsworth Town stations.
  • £5,7m has been allocated for Barnes Station which will provide lifts on both outside platforms and on a central platform, all linked by a new footbridge.This project has similarities to the proposals made above for KGS and calls into question why the costing for the latter from London Bridge Associates is over double the costs at Barnes!
  • Richmond Council (LBRuT) made an application for Access for All funds in 2019, supported strongly by TKS. This was prior to the Kew Society Feasibility Study. However, the application failed. The reasons for that are uncertain. One may be that TfL has claimed that KGS is already accessible because each platform can be reached from the streets on either side of the station without steps. That is, of course, true, but ignores the fact that no interchange between the platforms is possible without using steps, as discussed above.
  • Sidonie Forrest-Brown (Senior Transport Planner, LBRuT) wrote to TKS in March 2022 saying that “DfT had invited Network Rail and the Train Operators to submit bids for the next round of Access for All Funding”. These funds are expected to be released in 2024. She stated that LBRuT “will be asking for Kew Gardens Station to be included on the DfT list and will be submitting a letter of support to Network Rail”.
  • Sidonie Forrest-Brown also said that “bids are strengthened by letters of support” and asked if the Kew Society would submit one. We were enthusiastic to do so and submitted one focussed on the key criteria, as set out by TfL.  It was submitted with LBRuT’s own.  TKS also sent her for submission, letters of support from (i) The Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, (ii) The Chief Executive of the Kew Community Trust, (iii) Nick Rogers AM, GLA  assembly member, Richmond and neighbouring boroughs, (iv) Cathy Maker, the CEO of Ruils and Alan Benson, Trustee of Ruils and Chair of the Richmond Transport and Mobility Forum and (v) Sarah Olney MP.  TKS had previously requested these from key stakeholders, anticipating they would add support to any future application for funding.
  • Sidonie Forrest-Brown wrote to TKS again on 11 July 2023 to say that she had recently had a meeting with Network Rail in which the latest round of Access for All bids had been discussed. They informed her that DfT had told Network Rail that bids are still being assessed and that an announcement on successful bids will be made in the Autumn 2023.  We know of another local station (Turnham Green) where TfL has already said that step-free access funding will not be available. Thus,  we remain hopeful that the 2023 bid for funding for KGS step-free access, supported strongly by LBRuT, TKS and other major stakeholders (see above) is still in the running for funding approval.

Roger Mason
Former Chair, Kew Society
TKS Lead for the KGS step-free project

Update: 21/07/2020

Following the award of the grant from the Community Fund to undertake a feasibility study, the Kew Society drew up a brief for the provision of step free access between the platforms at Kew Gardens Station for architects and engineers interested in bidding for the study.  We consulted London Underground (LU) for technical advice on this and were greatly aided by the input of LU/Transport for London’s (TfL) Principal Sponsor for Station Development. Three consultant architect/ engineering companies tendered to carry out the study and a panel was established to adjudicate these. Panel members comprised the Kew Society Chair, Vice Chair and one other Trustee and three professional transport experts – the LU/TfL Principal Sponsor for Stations, a Senior Programme Development Manager, Network Rail South East, and the Senior Transport Planner, LBRuT. The Head of Strategic Planning, Network Rail South East received all minutes and reports, but did not attend meetings. The Panel was unanimous in selecting the bid from Trisha Chauhan of TC-Architects. TC-A had acted as consultant for The Wimbledon Chase Step Free Access Feasibility Study (2018) and for the East Putney Station Step Free Access Feasibility Study (2019) and had much other experience relevant to the present study.

In the first stage of the study, TC-A considered 8 different options for providing step free access, analysing the pros and cons for each. In the second stage, the panel selected one of these for further detailed study and costing. The selected option was for a 26-person lift (LU compliant) on each platform, linked via a new footbridge. Due to the existing Hennibique Grade 2-listed pedestrian bridge over the railway, the LBRuT Conservation Officer was consulted over the positioning of the new bridge. This was advised to be as far towards the Richmond end of the platforms as feasible.  The final Feasibility Report was received by the Kew Society in late June 2020. The Society will now use the report to consult with stakeholders such as London Underground, Network Rail and the Council and to seek funding for the scheme. We are grateful for the very valuable advice and input from the professional transport experts and Council Officers in progressing the project to this stage. We will seek community engagement in taking it forward from here.

You can read the full Report here 200024-KGS-TCA-SFA Feasibility Report-R02_Final

Update: 02/10/2019

There is no step free access at the Station to enable the disabled, elderly and young parents with buggies to cross easily between the platforms. The Kew Society submitted an application to Richmond Council’s Community Fund in May 2019 for £7600 to support a feasibility study to determine how this could be remedied. Strong letters of support from each of the three Kew Ward Councillors, each of the Trustees of the Kew Society, and The Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, were submitted with the application.  We are delighted to report that our application to the Community Fund was approved in September 2019. We will be engaging consulting engineers this autumn to investigate what options are possible.

Just to clarify, this funding is obtained from the Neighbourhood element of the Community Infrastructure Levy that gets paid by developers (although distributed by the Council).

Here is a link to Council’s announcement of the “winners”

Further details are contained in this document

Share this post to:

You might also be interested in...

20th November 2022 in Community, News

Draw-off Walk – November 2022

For the past few years, The Kew Society has been delighted to offer its members an annual draw-off of the tidal Thames walk Richmond to Ham. The draw-off occurs when Richmond Lock remains open to allow river water to flow out with the tides to the mouth of the Thames – giving time for maintenance of the lock, weirs and sluices.

Read more

Explore our website