Concerns have been raised in the London Assembly over a lack of level access at Old Oak Common Station.

Old Oak Common Station is due to become one of the most important transport interchanges in London and the whole of the UK, serving as the nexus between HS2, Great Western Rail services and the Elizabeth Line.

It is estimated that the station will serve 250,000 passengers per day and will ultimately connect with eight of the UK’s largest cities.

However, new information uncovered by the Liberal Democrats has unveiled that level boarding will not be available on Elizabeth Line services at the new £1.67 billion station.

Level boarding refers to a level “interface” between the platform and a train, with no step or gap. It means wheelchairs, pushchairs and heavy luggage can roll straight onto the train with no lifting or ramps required.

Where platforms do not have level boarding, travel can be made a major obstacle for those with disabilities who often must rely on a trained member of staff to operate ramps and when none are available, they aren’t able to get on or off the train.

Many passengers in wheelchairs have had multiple experiences of being left on trains when there are no staff to meet them with a ramp at their destination. It causes tremendous stress and worry and means that some disabled people are too nervous to travel.

The Liberal Democrats have criticised how this oversight could have happened in the planning of a brand-new state-of-the-art station and have called on the Mayor of London to lobby the Government to ensure full step-free access is provided at the Station.

In response to the question the Mayor of London stated that he will take this up directly with the Department of Transport and that he agrees with Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon’s concerns.

Commenting Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member an Transport Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:

“It beggars’ belief that this brand new £1.67 billion train station, which connects to the brand-new Elizabeth Line could not have level access throughout.

“Passengers arriving on HS2, who will be travelling inter-city and likely have large amounts of luggage will struggle to board the Elizabeth Line to get into central London or to connect with Heathrow.

“But far more importantly, in the 21st century it really isn’t acceptable that decisions are still being made that hamper the ability of those with disabilities to go about their lives without the fear they might get stuck on a train.

“With around a fifth of disabled people reporting they have difficulties accessing transport, we really need to be doing better than this and ensure our transport network is accessible to everyone.”