Kensington Olympia Station, "not step-free"

[VItraveller]

interesting article in disability news service about the newly developed olympia estate, and how the nearby Kensington Olympia station has not been made step free.

Failure to ensure step-free access at station beside iconic venue, despite £1.3 billion redevelopment, ‘is humiliating and cruel’

The £1.3 billion redevelopment of an iconic cultural venue has failed to ensure step-free access at its neighbouring rail station, in a “slap in the face” to disabled visitors, staff and local resi…

www.disabilitynewsservice.com

...Those who cannot use stairs have to leave the station and make a 600-metre walk from one side of the tracks to the other.

It means that all visitors with mobility impairments arriving by rail from north of Olympia – which is likely to be most visitors from outside London – will have to make the extra 600 metres journey to the Olympia entrance.

Residents have now launched a petition aimed at forcing Network Rail, Transport for London, and the site owners – Deutsche Finance International and Yoo Capital – to invest in installing lifts at Kensington Olympia station...

Looks like the website has been given the runaround about who actually owns the station, and there is a petition to get lifts installed.
My question is really whose responsibility would this have been, and are there likely to be lifts installed, due to the negative publicity?

 

[jfollows]

Interesting, thank you.
Was my “local” station in summer 1983 when I lived nearby in Sinclair Gardens, https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?x=5...ir+Gardens,+London,+W_14&searchp=ids&mapp=map, good memories. Only a few train services each day then …..

 

[yorkie]

As stated in the article, Olympia does have step-free access to both platforms; the issue is that there is no direct step-free access between the two sides (other than going around the local streets).

 

[Class 170101]

As stated in the article, Olympia does have step-free access to both platforms; the issue is that there is no direct step-free access between the two sides (other than going around the local streets).

and to be honest there are higher priorities when it comes to step free access for stations than this one given there is an option available compared to some stations that have no step free access at all.

 

[greatkingrat]

One potential issue is that the footbridge is currently split in two, with a paid and an unpaid side. In order to install lifts, you would probably have to remove one of the staircases, potentially removing the access route for local residents to cross the railway.

 

[Spaceflower]

So it isn't step free because there are three steps?

 

[Mojo]

and to be honest there are higher priorities when it comes to step free access for stations than this one given there is an option available compared to some stations that have no step free access at all.

I agree. Step free access is avaliable to all three platforms at Olympia, and on the West London line, stations either side are both step free, so I would say given the limited funds avaliable there are definitely more deserving cases and areas in London where there’s no stations that are step free.

 

[Snow1964]

As stated in the article, Olympia does have step-free access to both platforms; the issue is that there is no direct step-free access between the two sides (other than going around the local streets).

There are dozens (possibly hundreds) of stations where both platforms are step free, but direct step free access between platforms is only by a nearby road.

I think some of these have much higher passenger numbers than Olympia too, so ought to be much higher in priority queue for upgrade

 

[yorkie]

There are dozens (possibly hundreds) of stations where both platforms are step free, but direct step free access between platforms is only by a nearby road.

I think some of these have much higher passenger numbers than Olympia too, so ought to be much higher in priority queue for upgrade

This is too pragmatic for people like Jane Bird, who is the sort of person that newspapers absolutely love to quote, because the language they use is so hyperbolic.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jan 2025 ==

...and are there likely to be lifts installed, due to the negative publicity?

I would hope that those who shout the loudest, and compete to use the most disproportionately extreme language, don't have any sway in deciding which stations to prioritise!

 

[Kite159]

It would be better to spend what limited money there is to provide step free access to those stations which currently lack it outright or only have it to one platform.

There are plenty of other stations which have step free access to the platforms but not between them with access via local roads.

 

[The exile]

It would be better to spend what limited money there is to provide step free access to those stations which currently lack it outright or only have it to one platform.

There are plenty of other stations which have step free access to the platforms but not between them with access via local roads.

And if they aren’t used for interchange and don’t have a car park or facilities on one platform only (the only real reasons for needing to go to the other side of a simple two platform station), other stations which have no step free access should take priority. I suppose with Olympia the “difficulty” would be southbound platform to District Line interchange (and vice versa) - but how much of a flow is Willesden Junction to High Street Kensington?

 

[swt_passenger]

And if they aren’t used for interchange and don’t have a car park or facilities on one platform only (the only real reasons for needing to go to the other side of a simple two platform station), other stations which have no step free access should take priority. I suppose with Olympia the “difficulty” would be southbound platform to District Line interchange (and vice versa) - but how much of a flow is Willesden Junction to High Street Kensington?

The District Line is a very limited service nowadays, it can be considered weekends only, but even then it’s far easier to change from southbound overground to District by continuing one stop to West Brompton.

 

[The exile]

The District Line is a very limited service nowadays, it can be considered weekends only, but even then it’s far easier to change from southbound overground to District by continuing one stop to West Brompton.

Indeed - I was temporarily forgetting that West Brompton trains went to Edgware Rd!

 

[JamesT]

And if they aren’t used for interchange and don’t have a car park or facilities on one platform only (the only real reasons for needing to go to the other side of a simple two platform station), other stations which have no step free access should take priority. I suppose with Olympia the “difficulty” would be southbound platform to District Line interchange (and vice versa) - but how much of a flow is Willesden Junction to High Street Kensington?

Isn’t the thing with Kensington Olympia that the Exhibition Centre is on one side, so all of those visitors will end up using the bridge either coming or going!

 

[VItraveller]

I get the argument that other stations need the funding more, yet I also think that if work is being done there already and funds have been put aside for upgrades to the station, shouldn’t that also consider putting lifts in, especially as people were told prior that they would be installed.
Also, I think the concern is more about accessing the Olympia estate which is on the other side.

 

[BlueLeanie]

Isn't this exactly what the substantial fees paid by developers should be used for?

We shouldn't be protesting that someone has raised awareness that an individual with mobility issues has a considerable distance to wheel or ambulate to access platforms if they cannot use the stairs.

We should be identifying why lift access (for passengers) hasn't been sorted out at a London station that has 10 trains an hour.

 

[Stephen42]

Isn't this exactly what the substantial fees paid by developers should be used for?

We shouldn't be protesting that someone has raised awareness that an individual with mobility issues has a considerable distance to wheel or ambulate to access platforms if they cannot use the stairs.

We should be identifying why lift access (for passengers) hasn't been sorted out at a London station that has 10 trains an hour.

The developers were not required in their planning application to fund lifts at the station and their contribution was not an amount sufficient for installation of lifts. If the council wanted to make it a condition they should have done so, similarly the developers if they wished to voluntary commit to fund lifts are unlikely to have been prevented from doing so.

TfL requested funding to deal with the additional projected passengers at Kensington Olympia due to overcrowding concerns. The council voiced an aspiration for the installation of lifts (and reinstatement of regular District line services) in preference to additional ticket barriers. They conveniently omitted that the two would not be equivalent costs or that TfL would legally need to focus the funds on measures to boost station capacity to avoid unnecessary risks to public safety.

In lieu of developer funding, it would be seeking funds from an access from all type scheme. It's understandable that those funding sources would prioritise stations with no step free access at all over those with longer step free routes available.

 

[Jimini]

Devil's advocate here. I grew up in London in the 80's / 90's. The sheer amount of money we (taxpayers) have (and did) spend dedicated for disabled access was always disprortionate -- Dial-A-Ride was always the best way of dealing with things from very early on.

And here we are now (and have been for 30+ years) spending millions on step-free access to a tube network that quite frankly, could be far better spent on other service enhancements, when 99% of users can access the current setup with ease. If that seems a bit harsh then I'll pipe down...

 

[stuu]

Devil's advocate here. I grew up in London in the 80's / 90's. The sheer amount of money we (taxpayers) have (and did) spend dedicated for disabled access was always disprortionate -- Dial-A-Ride was always the best way of dealing with things from very early on.

And here we are now (and have been for 30+ years) spending millions on step-free access to a tube network that quite frankly, could be far better spent on other service enhancements, when 99% of users can access the current setup with ease. If that seems a bit harsh then I'll pipe down...

Step free access benefits many more people than just the disabled. People with luggage, pushchairs, mobility issues short of actual disability, and then there's the fundamental equity issue that everyone should be able to use the same services... So pipe down

 

[Tetchytyke]

If that seems a bit harsh then I'll pipe down...

Not harsh, just clueless, as lifts benefit many more people than just wheelchair users.

The developers were not required in their planning application to fund lifts at the station and their contribution was not an amount sufficient for installation of lifts. If the council wanted to make it a condition they should have done so

RBKC council wouldn’t ever do anything to make developers pay for things. It’s against their ethos. The developers should have been made to pay for lifts, in the grand scheme of things it’s not a lot of money to them but it is a lot of money to TfL.

 

[DarloRich]

So it isn't step free because there are three steps?

it is hard to get up three steps in your wheelchair or if you don't walk well.

If that seems a bit harsh then I'll pipe down...

I would get that pipe out. Disabled people might, perhaps, want to travel further than the local supermarket and do so under their own steam and with some dignity. Afterall, you aren't getting dial a ride from London to Newcastle!

( lifts also help all passengers: My local station has no lift on one platform and users have to bump buggies and luggage up a long flight of stairs. )

RBKC council wouldn’t ever do anything to make developers pay for things. It’s against their ethos.

same old story.

 

[Spaceflower]

it is hard to get up three steps in your wheelchair or if you don't walk well.


I would get that pipe out. Disabled people might, perhaps, want to travel further than the local supermarket and do so under their own steam and with some dignity. Afterall, you aren't getting dial a ride from London to Newcastle!

( lifts also help all passengers: My local station has no lift on one platform and users have to bump buggies and luggage up a long flight of stairs. )


same old story.

My post was a bit of mock of the obvious typo in the original thread title. It has since been rectified....... Something alongs the lines of 'KO not step three'...

 

[Railwaysceptic]

We should be identifying why lift access (for passengers) hasn't been sorted out at a London station that has 10 trains an hour.

In London, 10 trains an hour is nothing special. My local Underground station has about 35 trains an hour off peak and vastly more passengers than Kensington Olympia*, yet has no step free access and no lifts.

* I've done this exercise several times, counting the number of off-peak passengers coming down the stairs onto the London-bound platform. It's about 25 passengers every three minutes. . . . . . . at 11.00 Tuesday morning, 13.30 Thursday afternoon, 09.00 Sunday morning!

 

[RGM654]

I agree that there are higher priorities for funding by TfL, but the planning permission could very easily have been conditional on the installation of lifts and that would have been a very small addition to the total cost for the developers. It is the Council to blame.

 

[greatkingrat]

Not harsh, just clueless, as lifts benefit many more people than just wheelchair users.


RBKC council wouldn’t ever do anything to make developers pay for things. It’s against their ethos. The developers should have been made to pay for lifts, in the grand scheme of things it’s not a lot of money to them but it is a lot of money to TfL.

It would be difficult for Kensington and Chelsea council to do anything, considering the exhibition centre is in Hammersmith and Fulham!

 

[VItraveller]

Step free access benefits many more people than just the disabled. People with luggage, pushchairs, mobility issues short of actual disability, and then there's the fundamental equity issue that everyone should be able to use the same services... So pipe down

besides, the population isn’t getting any younger, I’m sure we’ll all be grateful at some point in our personal futures for all the step free work that’s been done.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jan 2025 ==

it is hard to get up three steps in your wheelchair or if you don't walk well.


I would get that pipe out. Disabled people might, perhaps, want to travel further than the local supermarket and do so under their own steam and with some dignity. Afterall, you aren't getting dial a ride from London to Newcastle!

( lifts also help all passengers: My local station has no lift on one platform and users have to bump buggies and luggage up a long flight of stairs. )


same old story.

would it be more expensive to have the lifts installed at the same time as the other work is being done, or to have them retroactively added in at a later date?

 

[The exile]

besides, the population isn’t getting any younger, I’m sure we’ll all be grateful at some point in our personal futures for all the step free work that’s been done.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jan 2025 ==



would it be more expensive to have the lifts installed at the same time as the other work is being done, or to have them retroactively added in at a later date?

Indeed - but I wish that a bit more of a coordinated approach were taken. Nothing to do with Kensington (or even London) - but at Stapleton Road, brand new (and no doubt expensive) ramps were installed allowing step free access to platforms. A good six years later, anyone using those ramps is still confronted with a height difference between platform and train of over a foot - more, I suspect, than on-train ramps could cope with and a challenge to all but the fittest!

 

[Tetchytyke]

would be difficult for Kensington and Chelsea council to do anything, considering the exhibition centre is in Hammersmith and Fulham!

That's possibly why it's happened then, as the map says the station is in RBKC.

 

[BlueLeanie]

Well, according to Ordnance Survey Election Mapping, which should be the definitive guide to boundaries.

Election Maps

Election Maps, designed to help the understanding of the electoral geography of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

The boundary wiggles up the middle of the station. So Platform 1&2 are in Hammersmith & Fulham, and Platform 3 is in Kensington & Chelsea.

 

[Horizon22]

Well, according to Ordnance Survey Election Mapping, which should be the definitive guide to boundaries.

Election Maps

Election Maps, designed to help the understanding of the electoral geography of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

The boundary wiggles up the middle of the station. So Platform 1&2 are in Hammersmith & Fulham, and Platform 3 is in Kensington & Chelsea.

Railway lines are often used as boundaries, but not normally stations!