The much-delayed opening of Crossrail, now known as the Elizabeth Line, is set for 24 May. All 41 of the new stations will have step-free access from street level to the platforms. Various new lifts have been installed to provide access to both the underground and surface level stations, where necessary.

Owing to position of the entrance at the newly-built central London stations of Farrington and Liverpool Street, incline lifts, which move in diagonal lines alongside the escalators, have been installed.

Further difficulties had to be worked around at the 19th century Grade II listed Hanwell station, which had been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register by Historic England. The station has now been fully restored, which meant excavating one of the lift shafts by hand, in order to protect the original timber canopy.

 TfL station enhancement manager Peter Herridge commented: “Our team, including colleagues from our operator MTR Elizabeth line, has worked closely with the Railway Heritage Trust, the London Borough of Ealing and Network Rail to carry out these improvements while preserving the rich heritage of this 19th century station.”

The first passengers who descend the elevators to the new underground stations will have a strikingly different experience to using the Tube. The new stations are more than 240 metres long, and in some cases 10 storeys underground. Each station has been designed to have an individual identity, whilst maintaining uniform standards of space and accessibility.

The line will connect suburban areas of Berkshire in the east to the heart of London, and encompass Heathrow airport, before reaching out to eastern Essex. It will increase the capital’s current rail capacity by 10%, and put over 1.5 million people within a 45-minute commute of central London.

If you are looking for lift consultants, please talk to us today.