Accessible travel has received a boost with new level access raised platforms at Canonbury station – providing customers using the East London line with step-free access from street to train.

Successfully introduced at a number of London Underground stations recently, this is the first time the raised access platforms have been installed on the London Overground network. The humps have been fitted along platforms 1 and 2 serving the East London line and will mean that wheelchair users can board and alight trains without the need to use a manual boarding ramp.

Jon Fox, Director of London Rail, said: “These raised platforms are a fantastic enhancement to accessible travel at Canonbury, providing wheelchair users with independent travel here for the first time. We will continue to look at new and innovative ways to make our customers’ journeys easier and more accessible across the network in the future.”

Providing level access at London Overground stations is challenging, the rail tracks are shared with freight and other train operators with different sized trains which mean platform heights cannot easily be altered.  Close collaboration with industry partners, including Network Rail, helped deliver this new accessible provision while enabling train services to continue to operate.

This London Overground level access scheme is the latest in a range of improvements that have already been made to transform transport accessibility across the Capital.  This includes the introduction of manual boarding ramps with a turn up and go service, wide aisle gates, tactile paving and raised platform sections to give level access to the train on both the London Overground and London Underground network.