A better experience for passengers at London Liverpool Street station (original) (raw)

Monday 22 Jul 2024

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A range of improvements will make the passenger station experience better at London Liverpool Street including more ticket gates new retail units and a new Greater Anglia ticket office on Platform 10.

Beginning this summer, Network Rail, together with its contractor, Spence, will begin to install an additional 21 new automatic ticket gates (including four wide access gates) serving Platforms 1-10.

London Liverpool Street is the busiest station in the UK with 80.4 million journeys. Passenger numbers have recovered since the pandemic, already exceeding the 2019 numbers by 16%, and are expected to continue to increase, adding to the existing congestion at busy times when passengers often have to queue at the ticket barriers.

Whether catching a train or trying to exit the station, hundreds of passengers can be frustrated and inconvenienced by having to wait to pass through the existing 36 ticket gates serving platforms 1-10 at busy times. Increasing capacity of the gateline by 58 percent will ease congestion and reduce wait time for passengers, helping them complete their journey more quickly. The new ticket gates will be installed in stages with all new gates in place by spring 2025.

To make room for the new ticket gates, five existing retail units on the gateline will be removed in stages by the end of 2024. Space for three new retail units will be re-provided to continue to give great retail choices for passengers and customers using the station.

The new retail units will be situated in the area of the existing, staffed Greater Anglia ticket office, which will be relocated on Platform 10, planned to open later in the year. A staffed ticket office will remain open and available for the convenience of passengers for the majority of relocation work.

Lawrence Bowman, route director for Network Rail Anglia said: “It is so important that our managed station, the busiest in the UK, is able to cope with the increase in passenger numbers we’ve seen over the last few years. The current gateline simply does not have the capacity to quickly and efficiently allow passengers to move between platform and concourse easily, especially at busy times.

“Working with our contractor, Spence, and Greater Anglia, the station team, retailers and our property colleagues, we now have a robust programme of improvements that will allow us to tackle the congestion while continuing to provide the service we need to on a daily basis with minimal disruption to passengers.”

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “As the UK’s busiest station, it is great that improvements are being made to the gateline at London Liverpool Street that will positively affect our passengers.

“These enhancements will help reduce crowding during peak times, enable customers to board trains more quickly and help them pass through the station more swiftly on arrival.

“We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while this work is carried out.”

Jonathan Spence, Managing Director for Spence Refit Ltd said: “Working in partnership with Network Rail, Spence Refit Ltd are excited to be awarded the contract to re-develop important passenger facilities at one of London’s most prestigious stations.

“Working closely with the station’s operator, Greater Anglia, local businesses and stakeholders, Spence has developed a construction programme to ensure minimal disruption to passengers and daily operations at the station throughout the extension of the existing west side ticket gates and the construction of the new ticket office and retail premises.”

Notes to Editors

Notes to editors

For more information visit our project webpage by clicking here
Follow us on @networkrailLST
Spence Refit Ltd was awarded the contract in May 2024 to install new ticket gates, relocate the existing Greater Anglia ticket office and create space for three new retail units.
The current layout of the gateline for Platforms 1-10 includes 36 ticket gates consisting of 31 automatic standard width, one automatic and four manual wide access gates.
The gateline capacity will be increased from 36 ticket gates to 57 ticket gates, consisting of 48 standard width and nine wide ticket gates.
The four existing manual wide access gates will be fitted with automatic gates as part of the work**.**
Five existing retail units on the gateline will be removed, with space for three new retail units created in the current location of the existing Greater Anglia ticket office**.**
The existing Greater Anglia ticket office will be relocated next to the existing station managers offices on Platform 10.
A staffed ticket office will remain available for the majority of the relocation process except for a short duration in the autumn until the new ticket office opens in the new location.

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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