Plans to upgrade Kew Bridge station to offer step-free access are advancing after funding was secured earlier this year.

Kew Bridge station, on the north side of the river from Kew Gardens, sits next to a busy road bridge, with stairs from the platform up to the main road.

The station also suffers from a significant gap between the platform and the trains, making the addition of step-free access a double problem of providing lifts and fixing the platform height.

Some funding for initial studies was approved in May 2024 and was upgraded to detailed design work earlier this year. In an update to local officials, Network Rail recently met with Ruth Cadbury MP, Cllr Katherine Dunne, and Hounslow Council to outline its initial proposals.

This would see a new footbridge and two lifts added to the station, a bit farther along the platform from the current footbridge, and a new main entrance on Lionel Road South, next to the station. That would also have the advantage of moving the entrance onto a quieter street away from the narrow pavement in front of the current entrance.

The existing footbridge is now too old to remain without major repairs, so it would be removed, although Ruth Cadbury MP said that it’s hoped the existing staircase down to the Brentford-facing platform would remain.

Also, at the moment, there’s only funding to investigate step-free upgrades for the lifts and the new footbridge, but the MP confirmed that Hounslow Council and Network Rail are looking at ways to reduce the height gap between the platform and the trains.

However, no timeline for the upgrade was provided, and at the moment, Department for Transport (DfT) funding is only for the detailed design work. After that, they need to secure planning permission and then apply to the DfT for the full funding package to build it.

As Peckham Rye station users will know all too well, funding can be refused at the last minute.