Transport for London (TfL) has completed step-free access works at Surrey Quays on the London Overground and Northolt on the Central line, with the projects involving new lifts, footbridges and upgraded station facilities.
The improvements enable wheelchair users and people travelling with pushchairs or luggage to reach trains without using stairs. Northolt is now the 95th Tube station to provide step-free access.
Surrey Quays works support Canada Water development
At Surrey Quays, a new entrance and ticket hall provide a more direct route towards Canada Water. Both platforms are now accessible via two new lifts, while a new footbridge and staircase reduce pressure on the station’s existing narrow staircases. The station also has an accessible toilet and baby-changing facilities.
TfL said the entrance would support the planned Canada Water development, where British Land and AustralianSuper are expected to deliver around 4,000 homes, up to 2 million sq ft of workspace and approximately 1 million sq ft of leisure, retail and community amenities over the next decade.
The station improvements were funded through an £80.8m Housing Infrastructure Fund package from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with a contribution from British Land. They form part of a wider programme on the London Overground Windrush line, including power and signalling upgrades and improvements to Canada Water bus station. The wider programme is intended to support the construction of approximately 14,000 homes.
Lead designer AtkinsRéalis worked with Morgan Sindall Infrastructure to reduce the project’s embodied carbon. Measures included efficient foundations, shorter secant wall piles and hollow-core planks to reduce excavation and concrete use. TfL said low-carbon CEM III concrete and electric arc furnace steel powered by renewable energy were also used, with the exception of some footbridge plates where size requirements meant alternative steel was necessary.
Glue-laminated timber beams were used instead of steel in the new concourse roof. The design-stage carbon target was tracked during construction, according to TfL.
The concourse building has a green roof intended to support sustainable drainage and biodiversity, alongside 21.6 sq m of solar panels.
Construction beside an operational railway
Work at Surrey Quays began in January 2023 and finished in September 2026. A Raptor tower crane with an articulated boom was used close to the railway. Its digital wall system and short collapse radius enabled materials to be lifted into the 5m-deep rail corridor during operating hours, reducing the amount of work needed during overnight closures.
TfL said the arrangement helped secure approvals for work during railway operating hours, while reducing disruption, noise and worker fatigue. The site had a direct power connection, meaning no generator was used, and the project employed an electric forklift and battery-powered tools.
The works intersected with retaining walls installed in the 19th century. Engineers carried out site investigations to check the existing structures against drawings dating from the 1860s and 1870s.
Installing 41 900mm-diameter secant piles beside one of the walls required extensive temporary-works planning. The piling platform was formed from 2m-deep lightweight dense-foam blocks, topped with a reinforced concrete slab designed to direct loads vertically to the lower-level ground.
A 4m-wide, 30t footbridge was assembled within the site compound in late 2024. It was lifted into position using a mobile crane during a weekend railway closure in early 2025, reducing work at height and limiting disruption.
Gareth Roberts, British Land’s head of Canada Water, said the work had delivered “a more accessible, higher-capacity station” for Canada Water, existing residents and the wider area.
Northolt lift and footbridge
At Northolt, a new steel footbridge and lift shaft provide step-free access between the street and trains. The structures are founded on concrete piles, with the lift shaft clad in brickwork. Manual boarding ramps are also available, while two accessible toilets are due to open shortly.
The works cost an estimated £15.3m, including design and TfL management and design assurance staff costs. Construction started in February 2025 and was completed in September 2026.
The walkway and tower were delivered in sections and installed using a 450t mobile crane. The crane was set up and removed overnight between the end and start of train services over six nights. A train-mounted 7.5t crane from TfL’s engineering fleet transported materials and removed spoil to and from a local depot, which TfL said simplified logistics and reduced carbon emissions.
The station is served by the Superloop SL9 bus route between Heathrow Airport and Harrow. TfL said the new facilities would create additional step-free journey options for passengers travelling to and from Heathrow via the bus service.
Engineers also regraded the railway embankment during reinstatement works to improve long-term stability. The embankment is being replanted with a grass mix, native trees and shrubs intended to deliver a biodiversity net gain.
TfL chief capital officer Stuart Harvey said the two stations would make journeys easier for disabled people, older residents, parents and carers, while the Surrey Quays works would increase capacity and improve connections to Canada Water.
TfL said step-free access works at Leyton on the Central line are due to finish in summer 2027. Works have also started at Burnt Oak on the Northern line, with feasibility or design work under way at 45 Tube stations.