Crossrail and TfL to install first incline lifts in UK public transport Friday 27th July 2012 By Peter MacLennan

Crossrail and Transport for London (TfL) today awarded a major contract to Kone for around 50 lifts for the new Crossrail stations as well as five lifts for Bank, Greenford and Hammersmith Tube stations.

Crossrail will pioneer the use of incline lifts to deliver step-free access at two of the major central London stations. Four innovative incline lifts will run alongside escalators at Farringdon and Liverpool Street Crossrail stations where it is not possible to install vertical lifts. London Underground will also install an incline lift at Greenford station by 2014.

Martin Rowark, Crossrail’s Procurement Director said: “All Crossrail stations in central London will have step-free access from street to train. The new incline lifts offer an added benefit by allowing groups travelling together to have passengers with wheelchairs, buggies or large baggage to take an incline lift while friends and family take an escalator directly alongside. These incline lifts will allow Crossrail to provide full step-free access at Farringdon and Liverpool Street stations where the platforms will sit below existing buildings, preventing the installation of traditional vertical lifts.”

The contract, valued at around £45 million, includes maintenance for a period of 22 years. Further lifts may be able to be added to this contract as other step-free access projects are delivered across TfL.

Miles Ashley, London’s Underground Programme Director of Stations said: “Greenford station will benefit from the first of the five incline lifts and represents an innovative approach in providing our customers with improved access. Incline lifts simply afford us with better opportunities to facilitate access where more traditional lift arrangements prove impossible to accommodate. Working jointly with Crossrail on this major lifts procurement has resulted in significantly better value for LU and TfL and will ensure that we increasingly deliver world class levels of reliability to our customers.”

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For further information contact the Crossrail Press Office on 020 3229 9552 or email [email protected]

Enquiries relating to lift and step-free access on the London Underground network should be directed to the Transport for London Press Office – Tel. 0845 604 4141.

Notes to Editors:

Crossrail and London Underground undertook a joint procurement process and selected Kone to install 54 lifts including 49 for Crossrail and four to be installed at Bank and Hammersmith (H&C) stations.

The following organisations were invited to tender for the C730 contract: Kone; Otis; Fujitec; Stannah; and Schindler.

Under current plans 29 of Crossrail’s 37 stations will have step free access including the six new central London stations as well as the busiest above ground stations. Crossrail services will open in 2018.

Crossrail lifts will be located at:

Liverpool Street - eight lifts including two incline lifts

Farringdon – seven lifts including two include lifts

Bond Street station - six lifts

Whitechapel – eight lifts

Tottenham Court Road - six lifts

Paddington – six lifts

Custom House – two lifts

Emergency and service shafts – six lifts.

The lift and Hammersmith (H&C) station will be installed in 2013 with a further lift installed at Bank in 2015.

About Crossrail:

Crossrail will run 118 km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21 km tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It will bring an additional 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commuting distance of London's key business districts.

When Crossrail opens it will increase London's rail-based transport network capacity by 10%, supporting regeneration across the capital, helping to secure London's position as a world leading financial centre, and cutting journey times across the city.

Crossrail is being delivered by Crossrail Limited (CRL). CRL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London. Crossrail is jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport and Transport for London.