Adding step-free access to Croxley Underground station could cost £10 million, according to Three Rivers District Council's leader. 

At a council meeting on Tuesday (October 8), Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst said he was “gobsmacked” by the figure for installing two lifts and enabling step-free access to the car park.

“I wish I were a provider of lifts,” he joked after revealing the number.

In August, Croxley was announced as one of 12 Tube stations being prioritised for step-free access.

Currently, the Metropolitan Line station is undergoing “assessment” for step-free access, with a report to be published next year according to Cllr Louise Price, lead member for infrastructure and economic development at Three Rivers District Council.

Cllr Giles-Medhurst made the comments about the mooted £10m figure while responding to a question from Cllr Reena Ranger about why Croxley had been selected rather than Rickmansworth.

Between January and June 2023, Rickmansworth station had 862,030 entries/exits, compared to 406,923 for Croxley. Rickmansworth currently has step-free access to the southbound platform only.

Cllr Giles-Medhurst said he had “raised the issue” with Transport for London (TfL), but added it was “easier, quicker and more financially viable” for them to add step-free access to Croxley instead of Rickmansworth.

He said: “There’s already an extant lift shaft on one side and they could install another lift shaft on the other side, already on Transport for London land.” He suggested TfL would “potentially” have to use land owned by other parties if they wanted to add step-free access at Rickmansworth.

Moor Park station was raised by Cllr Chris Lloyd, who said it also “needs” step-free access and asked whether it had been discussed by Cllr Giles-Medhurst and TfL. 

Cllr Lloyd referred to a petition with 3,000 signatures, submitted in 2016, that had called for step-free access to Croxley station. Hertfordshire County Council and TfL considered options for creating step-free access back in 2013, but no scheme was brought forward at the time.

According to Cllr Giles-Medhurst, Moor Park was not discussed at a recent meeting with TfL.

He reminded councillors that the Croxley plan is only for a “feasibility” assessment. He added, however, that TfL was “optimistic” it would “proceed to the next phase”.

He said the district council needed to “put pressure on them to at least deliver this in Croxley, and then we can move onto the next one”.

A TfL spokesperson said: “More than a third of Underground stations across the capital are step-free and we’re working hard to increase this number to help create a fairer, more accessible and inclusive transport network, opening up more of London to everyone.

"We announced in the summer that seven Tube stations, including Croxley, would undergo assessment for step-free access feasibility. Progress on all of these schemes will depend on deliverability and our future funding position, with schemes prioritised where there is third party funding available.  

"We want to make all TfL stations step-free if affordable and technically feasible. We constantly review our programme and are open to also assessing feasibility at Rickmansworth in the future, especially if additional funding could be identified to support this scheme.”