A £28m accessibility upgrade at Hither Green reached a visible milestone on 2 May, when Network Rail said a new footbridge was hoisted into place over the tracks. The prefabricated structure, lifted using heavy cranes as part of the Access for All programme, will link the platforms to two new entrances and a bank of lifts to deliver street-to-platform step-free access. Funded by the Department for Transport, the scheme will also add customer information systems, ticket machines and a reinstated nature reserve while work continues through the year. Network Rail has reiterated a 2027 completion target, although project materials alternately cite summer and autumn 2027 as the finish window.

The lift on 2 May was described by Network Rail as a "major milestone" in efforts to make Hither Green accessible for the first time. The new bridge forms the backbone of a package of works that, when finished, will provide street-to-platform step-free access across all platforms.

What the project delivers

The £28m package is funded by the Department for Transport and is being delivered under Network Rail's Access for All programme. Network Rail and its delivery partners are installing two new station entrances at Fernbrook Road and Springbank Road. Those entrances will be linked to the platforms by the newly lifted footbridge, and served by four new 16-person lifts, staircases and a link passageway between platforms 4 and 5, the project material says.

Beyond the structural work, the programme includes a suite of customer-facing upgrades. Network Rail and partners list new CCTV, a public announcement system and a customer information system, along with new ticket vending machines and Oyster readers. The scheme also contains a reinstatement plan for the adjacent nature reserve, including replanting intended to support biodiversity.

The principal contractor on the job is BAM Nuttall Ltd, with architects Fereday Pollard & Partners and Arcadis named as civil engineering designers. The main bridge structure was fabricated and installed by McNealy Brown Ltd, Network Rail briefings say.

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Lift, logistics and the schedule question

Network Rail said the structure was hoisted into position during the early May bank holiday weekend using heavy-lift cranes. Accounts of the lift agree on the date and on its importance, but they diverge over the precise crane specifications. Several briefings report the bridge was lifted using a 500-tonne and a 750-tonne crane, while one account records the operation using two cranes described as 500 tonne and 650 tonne. The difference doesn't alter the broader fact that heavy-lift equipment was required to place the prefabricated structure over live rail lines.

Timelines for completion also show variation across project materials. Network Rail items and partner write-ups consistently give 2027 as the expected year of completion, but some documentation cites summer 2027 as the target, and other materials refer to full completion by Autumn 2027. Network Rail has said work will progress through the rest of the year and has reiterated its targets for delivery in 2027.

Paul Richmond, named in project briefings as Network Rail's senior programme sponsor, said the lifting "means that people can see first-hand the scale of the work to make Hither Green an accessible station for the first time." Hodan Hassan, the scheme's commercial sponsor, thanked customers and the local community for their patience while works continue.

The contractors and designers named in the project material represent the full design-and-build team cited in Network Rail's briefings. BAM Nuttall Ltd is listed as the principal contractor, Fereday Pollard & Partners and Arcadis as designers, and McNealy Brown Ltd as the fabricator and installer of the main structure. The project notes emphasise that the bridge and the associated lifts and equipment are being fitted while keeping the railway operational, a complex task for any urban upgrade.

For funders and taxpayers, the headline figure is simple: the Department for Transport is the scheme's funder. Network Rail and its delivery partners are responsible for installation and programme management under the Access for All banner. The briefings spell out a mix of physical accessibility measures and customer-facing technology, tied together by the new footbridge as the central element that links street level with the platforms.

Local residents and regular users will see the most obvious change when the entrances at Fernbrook Road and Springbank Road open and the lifts begin serving the platforms. Less visible but part of the same package, the project includes systems such as PA and CCTV and an ecological reinstatement plan intended to restore the nearby nature reserve once heavy works are finished.

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Network Rail said work will continue through the remainder of the year, with completion expected in 2027; some project documents specify summer 2027 while others cite autumn 2027.

This article was created with AI assistance.