Make Harrow-on-the-Hill Station fully accessible and integrated with Harrow Bus Station

“Dear Navin

Thank you for the petition presented to the London Assembly plenary meeting on 7 March about Harrow-on-the-Hill Station. The Mayor has asked me to reply on his behalf.

The Mayor appreciates the significance of improving the accessibility of the transport network and enhancing the journey experience of older and disabled people travelling around London. The accessibility of the transport system can be a critical factor in determining the quality of life for so many. Significant progress has been made to the number of stations in London that offer step free access between the street and platform. Nearly 40 per cent of all stops and stations across London’s rail based public transport network are step-free. Up from around 30 per cent in 2008 and Transport for London (TFL) expect the number of step-free stations to rise to 50 percent well before the end of the decade.

There are currently 64 London Underground (LU) stations with step-free access, which includes Harrow & Wealdstone, Pinner and Stanmore in Harrow. TfL plans to increase this by nine stations by 2018, including a number of very busy interchange stations in central London such as Victoria, Bond street and Tottenham Court Road. The Mayor would obviously like to expand this programme, unfortunately, the existing funding settlement means resources to add further step-free stations in the short term are simply not available.

In addition , over 30 National Rail stations across London will be made step-free by the end of 2013/2014 financial period through the Department for Transport’s Access for All Programme. The Mayor will continue to lobby for funding for a further 18 National Rail stations in London to be provided step-free access in the period 2014-2019.

TfL is currently introducing new trains on the Metropolitan line which serves a number of stations in Harrow. New trains are providing a significant improvement in accessibility, including dedicated wheelchair spaces, better colour contrast and audio and visual customer information. They also have lower floors, providing easier access between the platform and train. LU has made a number of other improvements across the network to improve accessibility, which include the installation of over 250 Wide Aisle Gates, a changing of the Bylaws to allow specifically trained assistance dogs to use escalators and improvements to audio and visual information and tactile markings.

The Mayor recognises that there is more to do to further enhance the accessibility of London’s transport system. This is a key theme of his Transport Strategy, with improvments set out in greater detail in the Accessibility Implementation Plan. Harrow-on-the-Hill has been identified in the plan as being in an area of the LU network which should be considered for additional step-free access provison.

As you aware, the Access for All funding mentioned above is limited to National Rail stations, and Underground stations are excluded from the application process. This strikes the Mayor as anomalous given that the Underground carries nearly as many passengers as the whole of the National Rail network. He has recently written to the Government to ask that they broaden the category of stations eligible for the Access for All funding to include London Underground stations and would welcome your support in making this case to Ministers.

Please be assured that should additional resources become available in the future we will be actively considering the provison of step free access at Harrow-on-the-Hill station.”