While the government "remains committed to the vast majority" of projects to improve accessibility at railway stations that it inherited from its predecessor, the Palmers Green Station lifts project is one of five where ministers "have taken difficult but necessary decisions" and the project has been "indefinitely deferred"
Network Rail's 2023 vision for how Palmers Green station woud be made step-free. The rail minister announced this month that the project has been "indefinitely deferred"
On Thursday 15th January rail minister Lord Hendy delivered a statement to parliament about which UK railway stations will benefit from improved accessibility under the Access for All (AfA) programme.
Referring to the former Conservative government's 2024 list of 50 stations where feasibility work was to be carried out, the minister comments that the then government did not indicate how the delivery of such schemes would be funded, "raising significant stakeholder expectations". The current government, by contrast, "is committed to a rigorous approach and only making commitments we believe are affordable and would represent value for money to passengers and taxpayers".
Among the criteria that the government will apply are: how busy the station is; a good geographical spread; making use of pre-existing technical work; and, lastly, "the presence of a third-party funding contribution". This last aspect will be a "key consideration" and "officials will be working with Network Rail to develop guidance setting out best practice examples of how local funding packages have been assembled".
The statement lists eight stations where work will "progress direct to delivery", 23 which are "progressing to a detailed design stage", and 19 "which will not currently progress any further". Palmers Green does not appear in any of these lists.
At the very end of the statement, the minister adds:
"While we remain committed to the delivery of the vast majority of these legacy AfA projects, ministers have taken difficult but necessary decisions in relation to [...] five legacy projects".
The five projects are Beaconsfield, Brondesbury, Cricklewood, Ockenden and Palmers Green. At Palmers Green work is "indefinitely deferred as the benefits such upgrades would deliver to users of the station would not justify the significant disruption caused to other users of the Hertford Loop on the ECML [East Coast Main Line] and the significant costs to passengers and taxpayers".
The statement concludes: "The Rail Minister has written to the MP representing each of the above 5 legacy projects and has offered to meet to explain the decisions made."
As recently as May 2023, Network Rail were forecasting that lifts would be installed at Palmers Green by mid-2024, and in October of the same yearNetwork Rail published their concept for how they would be accommodated (see the illustration at the top of this report). By mid-2025, however, expectations were being reined back, as communicated in an email sent to local railways expert Dave Cockle:
"The proposed Access for All Scheme at Palmers Green railway station is particularly complex due to the lack of space available for construction works, with the neighbouring buildings and residences in close proximity to the platforms. These challenges mean that the scheme currently remains in the design stage as we seek to develop an affordable construction plan. We anticipate further details will be available in the coming months, and we will update you on the status of the project."
Dave agrees that a viable alternative to installing lifts, with all the disruption and expense involved, would be to use existing slopes or ramps on either side of the station to get from Aldermans Hill down to platform level. For the northbound platform this would involve widening the gate to the car park and removing the steps there. The pavement up to Aldermans Hill would have to be widened too to be big enough for wheelchairs. On the southbound "Up" side, there is a path that runs next to the platform up to a door between two shops on Aldermans Hill. This was used by builders working on repairs to the station a few years ago, and Dave says that at one time it was used by porters to transfer parcels to and from trains.
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