When we were planning how to construct the taxi deck ahead of building the Elizabeth line station at Paddington, we at Crossrail were told that we absolutely could not close London Street because it was needed for ambulance access to St Mary’s hospital. Now look at it! Well you can’t because it’s not just closed, it’s gone.
I got funnelled down here about a week ago, must've been brand new. I was trying to go away on hols, heavy luggage, a bit late for my train and when I went through the barrier and saw daylight 2 mins after stepping off the tube I was somewhat annoyed as I assumed I'd taken a wrong turn and was about to emerge at one of the back entrances miles away somewhere down a side street. You can imagine, my day was immeasurably improved with what ensued.
I always research the step free access tube map before I choose my Airbnb when visiting London. I’m not disabled but I want to know I won’t have to haul my suitcase up or down any stairs. Back in the old days when there was a shortage of lifts, there was always someone kind to grab the bottom of my bag and help me without even asking. So nice!😊
My first visit to London was 8 years ago and I had to go from Old Street to Marylebone. I decided to use the Underground. While carrying a suitcase. Some bad decisions were made that day.
It’s also worth noting that the ,Disability Discrimination Act 1995, when it originally came into force in November 1996, was a pretty toothless piece of legislation, which required several subsequent Acts to better define its terms (especially when it came to transport provision) and also establish the Disability Rights Commission which began to legally enforce its terms. Eventually, of course, the DDA 1995 (and also the DDA 2005, etc) were superseded and replaced (except in Northern Ireland) by the Equality Act 2010, while the DRC was folded into the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Yay for more coverage of this. Being in disability circles myself I do think TfL should be doing all they can to bring stations up to an accessible standard. It's what a good society that looks after people should do, we're better off seemingly than the Paris metro which apparently isn't at all accessible but our bar is still particularly low I feel.
Paddington main line station used to provide wheeled access for passengers if they were dead. There was a special enclosed trolley designed to carry a coffin which was kept on one of the platforms on what used to be the arrivals side of the station. I’m not sure when it was last used for its intended purpose, but I think carrying of deceased passengers had generally ceased before Winston Churchill. Was so carried on 30th January 1965. The trolley eventually found its way to the museum at Didcot Railway Centre. I’m not sure how common this was, but similar trolley exist on the Bluebell Railway and at the National Railway Museum, York, so it looks like they were used on at least three of the big four.
Step free and gap free access is really important but unfortunately the definition of step free is a bit varied. It's difficult to provide true wheelchair access because of the demands of different wheelchairs. If I use a manual wheelchair (or a manual wheelchair with electric assistance) I can cope with smallish gaps and height differences. If I use my heavy electric wheelchair this is blocked by a height difference of more than about 7cm and a horizontal gap of about the same. I can't even ask for assistance from other passengers because it weighs in at 135kg before I get on. The last time I considered using the tube I found a tfl map of step free access underground. In the small print this plan considered a gap of up to 20cm either horizontally, vertically or both was acceptable as 'step free'. Because of the access issues on the underground I'm stuck with the buses in London with the exception of Docklands and the modern extensions of tube lines. Planning travel in a wheelchair is really really tough and anything that highlights the improvements is to be welcomed. Having properly accessible stations and transport is really important and not just for a small minority. Many people end up with mobility problems and the step free access also helps pushchairs and those with luggage.
Has no one out there gone and done real world assessments of each station to see just how accessible they are? When the Elizabeth Line opened and Geoff Marshall did his series of videos, I remember he would point out the location of each elevator, etc, at each station.
it's baffling to me how even a 2cm height difference or gap could be considered step-free, that feels like a very very malicious interpretation of the term.
As a young designer in the 1980s I penned proposals for LT refurbishments and DLR stations before leaving the country for Germany. All the more reason to watch your channel and see how the system has developed, including aspects concerning access. Thank you for this evening‘s superb video!
We were just at Paddington, my gosh! it will be a month ago tomorrow, and were admiring the new construction not even realizing that the new Paddington Underground entry was there!
Paddington has a more beautiful interior than St Pancras? I think I've been there only once. I'd love to see a video on accessibility on London Transport (not just the Tube).
I think 'as a station', meaning the platforms, it does. The shopping concourse and hotel at St. Pancras is IMHO more beautiful than those at Paddington, but - especially for the shopping bit - that's no high bar to clear (while St. Pancras's is genuinely a nice place).
Shows how much it's changed round there, used it a lot in the mid to late 90s, the only bit I recognise are the entrance and ramp, the hotel frontage and the KFC. Used to stay at the London crown hotel, top of the ramp turn left and its right there. The first time I stayed there was London marathon weekend 1996, got the hotel booking office to find me a room, when I asked how to get there etc. They told me it was about 200 yards away, couldn't believe it lol
Thanks Jago. This is a vast improvement. Did you know that a few years back there were proposals to demolish Span 4 of Paddington Station? - the very entrance to this development.
Was on the Bakerloo on my birthday last Thursday, and somehow exited at Paddington at the new Bakerloo line entrance rather than the main entrance inside the concourse. Was reasonably impressed by the new entrance, but will probably still be entering the Bakerloo from the concourse entrance as I would typically be going straight there from a GWR mainline train and the concourse entrance would be easiest to reach from there
Off topic but not really. I use a wheelchair and was on the Elizabeth Line in July. I decided to go to Stratford to see the Olympic Park. Alas I couldn't exit in Stratford because there was a big gap between train and platform. I was in an official disabled carriage. All these £billions spent on the line but they couldn't even get that right! More recently I took the train to Norwich. It uses the same route as the Elizabeth Line. On my return to London I decided to get off in Stratford to look at the Olympic Park... The train I used was Greater Anglia. As a corporate decision, it decided to make all its station platforms suitable for level boarding. That included Stratford. There was no need to get a ramp to get off the train! Talking about showing up the Elizabeth Line!
I think the main reason why the Disability Discrimination Act didn't result in all the railway stations and trains in the UK becoming accessible is that central government didn't actually provide the funding for the work. There is also resistance to destroying heritage features, like listed buildings. What we need are four things: 1) There should be government grants for adding accessibility to public transport. People with non-accessible trains should be able to apply for part-funding for replacement trains, so long as the replacement trains are fully accessible. Same with busses. And the same with station upgrades. There should be negative VAT on work related to making anything accessible for the first time. And there should be zero VAT on work for replacing accessibility features. 2) There needs to be a clear statement in the law that preservation of listed structures is important. But that accessibility is more important than heritage. If there is no way to make a listed building accessible, then planning departments must accept a level of alteration needed to make a station accessible. 3) The Department for Transport should publish an annual league table showing the state of play of all of the railway stations in the UK, with regard to accessibility. Every year the Minister for Transport should be required to discuss the 25 most busy stations in the UK, that currently lack step free access to trains in a Parliamentary speech and should state a plan to deal with that deficiency. Something like this, would force every government to invest in the big stations, that disabled people are going to need to go to, just like everyone else. 4) Transport operators need to be required to operate "Railway Replacement Taxis" or "Railway Replacement Busses" for disabled people, who are unable to use stations, that lack step free access. If the system has flaws, it's not down to disabled passengers to pay the additional costs of those flaws. We can provide the actual service of going to a bad station, without the accessibility stuff being installed. So let's open up the entire public transport network to registered disabled people now. If that is done, and privatised companies that are trying to siphon profits out of the transport system, have to actually pay to provide an equal service to disabled people, I think that magically, there will be a lot more eagerness for lobbying for awkward stations to get a rebuild. We have a long history of government in the UK, where the ruling party thinks they can come up with some sneaky trick, to get "investors" to come onto the transport system and pay for things, so that tax money is not invested in the railways. And history shows, that private companies do not actually want to pay to improve things. They just want to get access to money from passengers. And - unfortunately - disabled people are passengers that cost a bit more to look after properly, but who don't pay extra. So private businesses are very very motivated to find reasons why spending money on improving stations is "not reasonable". The fact that we got a flipping cable car across the Thames, instead of having the same amount of money invested on ripping a hole into the ground to make an existing Underground station accessible, shows that people don't really care about disabled passengers. They are invisible to them. Even when disabled people were crawling underneath Routemaster busses and handcuffing themselves to the driveshafts of the busses, there were loads of people saying "But Routemasters are popular with tourists". I loved the old Routemasters, but the disabled people who crawled like worms underneath them opened my eyes to how terrible a Routemaster was to a disabled person. And as soon as I realised they blocked disabled passengers, I wanted them gone. Every Metro mayor in the UK, should make an annual statement about how much non-accessible rail network they oversee. And they should make an application every year to the DfT to upgrade some of the stations to make them accessible. We need to understand exactly who is trying to solve the problem, and who is trying to sweep the problem under the carpet. Given the scale of the problem, it's going to take years to fix things. But disabled passengers shouldn't have to sit at home waiting to be allowed onto the transport network. And people can't both make the argument that a small station doesn't have the footfall to justify being done now and also make the opposite argument that a big station will cost too much to adapt. We need to see spending reports for every part of the UK.
As a (mildly) disabled person I should perhaps say that the only time I've been challenged on the Underground was when the down escalator at Green Park took off with a lurch and left me momentarily scared of falling forward on top of the defenceless (but able-bodied) old lady in front of me. The university I currently work at is far worse.
i think first accessible lines was Docklands railway - DLR which opened in 1985 had lifts every station (Bank had lifts there but added up with DLR (later northern line in 2023/2024 and waterloo and city) however earlier accessible stations was Heathrow 123 and Heathrow 4 - (Heathrow 123 station had small lift (that was staff only lift from opening of sttaion) latter replaced by two modern lifts, the Heathrow 4 always had ramp to airport's lifts
It was not till I traveled to London with a trolly bag that I realized how many steps and kerbs there are, and what people with mobility issues have to put up with, It seems strange that despite so many disabled people after two world wars that only in recent years has any consideration been shown to people with mobility issues.
Really interesting video, looking forward to your future video to accessibility on the Tube was wondering what was classed as the first step free accessible station you mention that London Underground started the process at Hillingdon in 1992 The Bakerloo line at Paddington was technically accessible prior to this entrance opening via the Elizabeth line connector corridor but it was a bit of a faff when I tried it so this will be more convenient but IIRC there aren't many step free stations on the Bakerloo line generally
The rumour mill has it that all the tiles from the demolished part have been stored to mend other buildings using the same tiles in the event of damage. However, I have found no official confirmation of this. Over to you Jago :)
Paddington GWR no longer has direct road access to platforms, a bummer for those using Taxis. Stations don't need step free access just a couple of Porters or Platform Staff to carry a wheelchair with the disabled person up and down the stairs, a chair provided if required, as was normal in times past. Maybe the only solution where people are cheaper than infrastructure long term.
Thanks for another 1st class vid. That art deco on the side of Paddington's main bldg sure is a sight to behold! 😲 Another request of you, Mr Tom Hazzard: an episode, please, devoted to all the "BOAT-TRAINS" {incl. hovercraft, trans-oceanic liners, ferries, etc.} which connect[ed] with London. - I've heard that some, like for the North of Ireland, even went up to Scottish ports, in order to reduce the time spent on the actual sea-crossing itself. ⛴ 😎 🚢
0:21What the hell is that? A high security multi storey car park? So that's how developers can bung any old monstrosity where they like is it, promise a new entrance to the nearest Underground station
Accessibility on the tube is very binary - step free or not. The problem with this is that many stations that are marked as not step free are actually accessible, depending on what your issues are. There is no real way of finding these out except by trial and error. For example I can use Kennington tube with a suitcase as it has a short flight of stairs and a lift. I cannot use an escalator with a suitcase. It's not step free but it'll do. If I was reliant on stations fully step free I'd be cut off from most of the Northern line.
Accessibility in general, not specific to any groups. Wheelchair users can, and should, be accommodated by many means. Lots of us just need a little help from our friends. Just think of those poor people going to Glastonbury by public transport 😊
When I was a denizen of Oxforshire, Paddington was nearly always the station I went to. It maybe nearly 50 years since I was at Uni in Essex but the Circle line was pretty cramped if you happened to arrive at Paddington or Liverpool Street in the rush hour, I cant imagine its much better today, IIRC, there was always 3 or 4 steps between the concourse and the circle line platform. Have they gone yet?
Or you do what NYC did for disabled people who need public transport? Just give them free taxis! They worked out that it was much cheaper to do that instead of spending billions on retrofitting the existing stations!
Gareth Denis is very hot on accessibility... He has some time on his hands after he got sacked, by Sir Peter Hendy, for worrying publicly about safety in Euston station and especially safety for those of us with added accessibility needs.
Unexpected angle on tube accessibility: why are some stations with completely doable access (eg Farringdon) listed as R for ramp when it's no harder than many others? N fact it's easier than many A stations. Why are the accessible door symbols not consistent in location and icon between lines (looked for ages for the Victoria line ones in the wrong place) and yes... Lift diagrams!
The same way you assist able-bodied people in-between stations. You don't. The emergency alarms now instruct the driver to stop at the next station along. It takes a lot of training for TfL staff to be able to do track walks - especially in tunnels. If you actually detrain a Bakerloo Line train underground, you need to turn off the electricity and then you can only evacuate passengers in small groups, with staff going with them to tell them where they can put their feet. If you have people going down the tunnel of a deep level tube line you are probably looking at at least one hour with the power off. That's the opposite of "quickly get them to safety". If you needed to get a wheelchair user out of the train, or someone else who has fairly limited mobility, you would probably be best off putting them onto a stretcher, so that they can be passed through the train car doors (where a wheelchair would not fit) and so they can be passed down to some workers on the track, who can get them to the platform at the next station. It would be awkward, but it's do-able. (Incidentally, people in the past would argue that disabled people were some sort of "health & safety hazard" and ban them from going to awkward places, instead of fixing the awkward places.)
First! Thank you for this news. I use PAD quite a lot of the times when I'm travelling through London; ironically, I'm unlikely to see this marvellous rebuilding of its entrance, because I generally reach PAD using another recent, excellent addition to London's transport network, the Elizabeth line.
Yes, you're being far too sentimental for a poxy little entrance. If we saved EVERYTHING historical, we'd never get anywhere. Some things just HAVE to go. People really need to get over it.
I don’t think we give enough credit to Jago and his great collection of B-Roll. They’re great 👏🏽
I was thinking that! They are a wonderful time-capsule that I hope end up in the Transport Museum.)
When we were planning how to construct the taxi deck ahead of building the Elizabeth line station at Paddington, we at Crossrail were told that we absolutely could not close London Street because it was needed for ambulance access to St Mary’s hospital. Now look at it! Well you can’t because it’s not just closed, it’s gone.
I got funnelled down here about a week ago, must've been brand new. I was trying to go away on hols, heavy luggage, a bit late for my train and when I went through the barrier and saw daylight 2 mins after stepping off the tube I was somewhat annoyed as I assumed I'd taken a wrong turn and was about to emerge at one of the back entrances miles away somewhere down a side street. You can imagine, my day was immeasurably improved with what ensued.
I always research the step free access tube map before I choose my Airbnb when visiting London. I’m not disabled but I want to know I won’t have to haul my suitcase up or down any stairs. Back in the old days when there was a shortage of lifts,
there was always someone kind to grab the bottom of my bag and help me without even asking. So nice!😊
My first visit to London was 8 years ago and I had to go from Old Street to Marylebone. I decided to use the Underground. While carrying a suitcase.
Some bad decisions were made that day.
It’s also worth noting that the ,Disability Discrimination Act 1995, when it originally came into force in November 1996, was a pretty toothless piece of legislation, which required several subsequent Acts to better define its terms (especially when it came to transport provision) and also establish the Disability Rights Commission which began to legally enforce its terms. Eventually, of course, the DDA 1995 (and also the DDA 2005, etc) were superseded and replaced (except in Northern Ireland) by the Equality Act 2010, while the DRC was folded into the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Yay for more coverage of this. Being in disability circles myself I do think TfL should be doing all they can to bring stations up to an accessible standard. It's what a good society that looks after people should do, we're better off seemingly than the Paris metro which apparently isn't at all accessible but our bar is still particularly low I feel.
2:04 Love that they have an arrow pointing skywards towards the "Rooftop Restaurant"
Paddington main line station used to provide wheeled access for passengers if they were dead. There was a special enclosed trolley designed to carry a coffin which was kept on one of the platforms on what used to be the arrivals side of the station. I’m not sure when it was last used for its intended purpose, but I think carrying of deceased passengers had generally ceased before Winston Churchill. Was so carried on 30th January 1965. The trolley eventually found its way to the museum at Didcot Railway Centre. I’m not sure how common this was, but similar trolley exist on the Bluebell Railway and at the National Railway Museum, York, so it looks like they were used on at least three of the big four.
At last! step free entry to the Bakerloo line. It's always nice when somebody else is paying the bill. 😎
Step free and gap free access is really important but unfortunately the definition of step free is a bit varied. It's difficult to provide true wheelchair access because of the demands of different wheelchairs. If I use a manual wheelchair (or a manual wheelchair with electric assistance) I can cope with smallish gaps and height differences. If I use my heavy electric wheelchair this is blocked by a height difference of more than about 7cm and a horizontal gap of about the same. I can't even ask for assistance from other passengers because it weighs in at 135kg before I get on.
The last time I considered using the tube I found a tfl map of step free access underground. In the small print this plan considered a gap of up to 20cm either horizontally, vertically or both was acceptable as 'step free'.
Because of the access issues on the underground I'm stuck with the buses in London with the exception of Docklands and the modern extensions of tube lines. Planning travel in a wheelchair is really really tough and anything that highlights the improvements is to be welcomed.
Having properly accessible stations and transport is really important and not just for a small minority. Many people end up with mobility problems and the step free access also helps pushchairs and those with luggage.
Has no one out there gone and done real world assessments of each station to see just how accessible they are? When the Elizabeth Line opened and Geoff Marshall did his series of videos, I remember he would point out the location of each elevator, etc, at each station.
it's baffling to me how even a 2cm height difference or gap could be considered step-free, that feels like a very very malicious interpretation of the term.
Flippin' eck! A vertical gap of 20 cm is a normal stair step. And they call it 'step free'. Perhaphs they should change it to 'stepS free'
As a young designer in the 1980s I penned proposals for LT refurbishments and DLR stations before leaving the country for Germany. All the more reason to watch your channel and see how the system has developed, including aspects concerning access.
Thank you for this evening‘s superb video!
Agree, the Paddington interior is exceptional. Always enjoy Jago's videos.
Everyone should be able to access public spaces.
Ah, so that thing they were building two months ago when I was there is done? Neat.
We were just at Paddington, my gosh! it will be a month ago tomorrow, and were admiring the new construction not even realizing that the new Paddington Underground entry was there!
The orginal entrance to Paddington....basically 'Smoker's Corner' :D
My favourite London terminus. Thank you Jago
Paddington has a more beautiful interior than St Pancras? I think I've been there only once.
I'd love to see a video on accessibility on London Transport (not just the Tube).
I haven't been to every London station, but I like Paddington, St. Pancras, and Waterloo the most.
I think 'as a station', meaning the platforms, it does. The shopping concourse and hotel at St. Pancras is IMHO more beautiful than those at Paddington, but - especially for the shopping bit - that's no high bar to clear (while St. Pancras's is genuinely a nice place).
that is a great upgrade and given the station a much better entrance
Shows how much it's changed round there, used it a lot in the mid to late 90s, the only bit I recognise are the entrance and ramp, the hotel frontage and the KFC. Used to stay at the London crown hotel, top of the ramp turn left and its right there.
The first time I stayed there was London marathon weekend 1996, got the hotel booking office to find me a room, when I asked how to get there etc. They told me it was about 200 yards away, couldn't believe it lol
1:57 How many times have I come in and out of Paddington station and not noticed this gorgeous art deco building before? Thanks Jago!
I'd like to nominate West Croydon for the most beautiful overground station award - mainly because I've just had a serious blow to the head!
Thanks Jago. This is a vast improvement. Did you know that a few years back there were proposals to demolish Span 4 of Paddington Station? - the very entrance to this development.
Was on the Bakerloo on my birthday last Thursday, and somehow exited at Paddington at the new Bakerloo line entrance rather than the main entrance inside the concourse. Was reasonably impressed by the new entrance, but will probably still be entering the Bakerloo from the concourse entrance as I would typically be going straight there from a GWR mainline train and the concourse entrance would be easiest to reach from there
St Pancras would be my choice for most beautiful station in London. Paddington second.
Off topic but not really.
I use a wheelchair and was on the Elizabeth Line in July. I decided to go to Stratford to see the Olympic Park.
Alas I couldn't exit in Stratford because there was a big gap between train and platform. I was in an official disabled carriage.
All these £billions spent on the line but they couldn't even get that right!
More recently I took the train to Norwich. It uses the same route as the Elizabeth Line.
On my return to London I decided to get off in Stratford to look at the Olympic Park...
The train I used was Greater Anglia. As a corporate decision, it decided to make all its station platforms suitable for level boarding. That included Stratford. There was no need to get a ramp to get off the train!
Talking about showing up the Elizabeth Line!
What a comprehensive collection of Paddington platform shots. (I'm sure you have The purple 'Betty line somewhere.)
I think the main reason why the Disability Discrimination Act didn't result in all the railway stations and trains in the UK becoming accessible is that central government didn't actually provide the funding for the work. There is also resistance to destroying heritage features, like listed buildings.
What we need are four things:
1) There should be government grants for adding accessibility to public transport. People with non-accessible trains should be able to apply for part-funding for replacement trains, so long as the replacement trains are fully accessible. Same with busses. And the same with station upgrades. There should be negative VAT on work related to making anything accessible for the first time. And there should be zero VAT on work for replacing accessibility features.
2) There needs to be a clear statement in the law that preservation of listed structures is important. But that accessibility is more important than heritage. If there is no way to make a listed building accessible, then planning departments must accept a level of alteration needed to make a station accessible.
3) The Department for Transport should publish an annual league table showing the state of play of all of the railway stations in the UK, with regard to accessibility. Every year the Minister for Transport should be required to discuss the 25 most busy stations in the UK, that currently lack step free access to trains in a Parliamentary speech and should state a plan to deal with that deficiency. Something like this, would force every government to invest in the big stations, that disabled people are going to need to go to, just like everyone else.
4) Transport operators need to be required to operate "Railway Replacement Taxis" or "Railway Replacement Busses" for disabled people, who are unable to use stations, that lack step free access. If the system has flaws, it's not down to disabled passengers to pay the additional costs of those flaws. We can provide the actual service of going to a bad station, without the accessibility stuff being installed. So let's open up the entire public transport network to registered disabled people now. If that is done, and privatised companies that are trying to siphon profits out of the transport system, have to actually pay to provide an equal service to disabled people, I think that magically, there will be a lot more eagerness for lobbying for awkward stations to get a rebuild.
We have a long history of government in the UK, where the ruling party thinks they can come up with some sneaky trick, to get "investors" to come onto the transport system and pay for things, so that tax money is not invested in the railways. And history shows, that private companies do not actually want to pay to improve things. They just want to get access to money from passengers. And - unfortunately - disabled people are passengers that cost a bit more to look after properly, but who don't pay extra. So private businesses are very very motivated to find reasons why spending money on improving stations is "not reasonable".
The fact that we got a flipping cable car across the Thames, instead of having the same amount of money invested on ripping a hole into the ground to make an existing Underground station accessible, shows that people don't really care about disabled passengers. They are invisible to them. Even when disabled people were crawling underneath Routemaster busses and handcuffing themselves to the driveshafts of the busses, there were loads of people saying "But Routemasters are popular with tourists". I loved the old Routemasters, but the disabled people who crawled like worms underneath them opened my eyes to how terrible a Routemaster was to a disabled person. And as soon as I realised they blocked disabled passengers, I wanted them gone.
Every Metro mayor in the UK, should make an annual statement about how much non-accessible rail network they oversee. And they should make an application every year to the DfT to upgrade some of the stations to make them accessible. We need to understand exactly who is trying to solve the problem, and who is trying to sweep the problem under the carpet.
Given the scale of the problem, it's going to take years to fix things. But disabled passengers shouldn't have to sit at home waiting to be allowed onto the transport network. And people can't both make the argument that a small station doesn't have the footfall to justify being done now and also make the opposite argument that a big station will cost too much to adapt. We need to see spending reports for every part of the UK.
It's definitely a great improvement in getting to and from the Bakerloo line without having to battle through the National Rail concourse!
I miss the old one. Coming off trains on platform 10 11 or 12 straight to the Bakerloo
Thank you for another great video - please keep it going
As a (mildly) disabled person I should perhaps say that the only time I've been challenged on the Underground was when the down escalator at Green Park took off with a lurch and left me momentarily scared of falling forward on top of the defenceless (but able-bodied) old lady in front of me. The university I currently work at is far worse.
i think first accessible lines was Docklands railway - DLR which opened in 1985 had lifts every station (Bank had lifts there but added up with DLR (later northern line in 2023/2024 and waterloo and city) however earlier accessible stations was Heathrow 123 and Heathrow 4 - (Heathrow 123 station had small lift (that was staff only lift from opening of sttaion) latter replaced by two modern lifts, the Heathrow 4 always had ramp to airport's lifts
I liked it as it was. But then again, I liked everything as it was. Pip Pip
It was not till I traveled to London with a trolly bag that I realized how many steps and kerbs there are, and what people with mobility issues have to put up with,
It seems strange that despite so many disabled people after two world wars that only in recent years has any consideration been shown to people with mobility issues.
Really interesting video, looking forward to your future video to accessibility on the Tube was wondering what was classed as the first step free accessible station you mention that London Underground started the process at Hillingdon in 1992
The Bakerloo line at Paddington was technically accessible prior to this entrance opening via the Elizabeth line connector corridor but it was a bit of a faff when I tried it so this will be more convenient but IIRC there aren't many step free stations on the Bakerloo line generally
That old entrance would have made a great public toilet!
It probably already did!
The rumour mill has it that all the tiles from the demolished part have been stored to mend other buildings using the same tiles in the event of damage. However, I have found no official confirmation of this. Over to you Jago :)
In my island, absolutely every station has step-free access.
1 view and 15 likes, thank you as always, youtube
You know view counts are only updated periodically. You can watch them in real time by watching the viedo
Paddington GWR no longer has direct road access to platforms, a bummer for those using Taxis. Stations don't need step free access just a couple of Porters or Platform Staff to carry a wheelchair with the disabled person up and down the stairs, a chair provided if required, as was normal in times past. Maybe the only solution where people are cheaper than infrastructure long term.
Thanks for another 1st class vid. That art deco on the side of Paddington's main bldg sure is a sight to behold! 😲
Another request of you, Mr Tom Hazzard: an episode, please, devoted to all the "BOAT-TRAINS" {incl. hovercraft, trans-oceanic liners, ferries, etc.} which connect[ed] with London.
- I've heard that some, like for the North of Ireland, even went up to Scottish ports, in order to reduce the time spent on the actual sea-crossing itself. ⛴ 😎 🚢
My favourite station .. ta :)
0:21What the hell is that? A high security multi storey car park? So that's how developers can bung any old monstrosity where they like is it, promise a new entrance to the nearest Underground station
Accessibility on the tube is very binary - step free or not. The problem with this is that many stations that are marked as not step free are actually accessible, depending on what your issues are. There is no real way of finding these out except by trial and error.
For example I can use Kennington tube with a suitcase as it has a short flight of stairs and a lift. I cannot use an escalator with a suitcase. It's not step free but it'll do. If I was reliant on stations fully step free I'd be cut off from most of the Northern line.
Accessibility in general, not specific to any groups. Wheelchair users can, and should, be accommodated by many means. Lots of us just need a little help from our friends. Just think of those poor people going to Glastonbury by public transport 😊
Most informative as ever, Jago! Any idea when construction started on this project..?
Marylebone is the most iconic London station. Nicer than Paddington because the tube is not half a mile from the station
I’d love to see a Leslie Green styled house.
Despite how close I live to the station, I rarely ever use it
0:45 Chesham!!! (I know it's not actually in London but it's still on the London Underground)
Hooray 🎉
When I was a denizen of Oxforshire, Paddington was nearly always the station I went to. It maybe nearly 50 years since I was at Uni in Essex but the Circle line was pretty cramped if you happened to arrive at Paddington or Liverpool Street in the rush hour, I cant imagine its much better today, IIRC, there was always 3 or 4 steps between the concourse and the circle line platform. Have they gone yet?
No. GWR has paid little attention to level boarding across its network, unfortunately.
Heavily crowded spaces are never nice, but it helps if you keep a marmalade sandwich in your hat. You know, for emergencies
Paddington - for the bear necessities in life..? Maybe part of Paddington's passengers will move to Old Oak Common - the Clapham Junction of the West?
Or you do what NYC did for disabled people who need public transport? Just give them free taxis! They worked out that it was much cheaper to do that instead of spending billions on retrofitting the existing stations!
Yes, that's interesting. I'd heard that suggestion before with regards to public transport in London but didn't know they'd implemented it in NYC.
Did you intend to get the MST3K song in my head at the end there? Not a complaint of course, it's a good one!
0:03 Why did I say “Hello” back?
You go Jago!
Gareth Denis is very hot on accessibility... He has some time on his hands after he got sacked, by Sir Peter Hendy, for worrying publicly about safety in Euston station and especially safety for those of us with added accessibility needs.
I've never understood that bizarre story
JH the master TH-camr
St Pancras!
Unexpected angle on tube accessibility: why are some stations with completely doable access (eg Farringdon) listed as R for ramp when it's no harder than many others? N fact it's easier than many A stations. Why are the accessible door symbols not consistent in location and icon between lines (looked for ages for the Victoria line ones in the wrong place) and yes... Lift diagrams!
Wot no Charles Tyson Yerkies? 😂😂😂
Well, the architectural minons are among us....😅
Paddington is indeed beautiful inside but St Pancras is more beautifuller. And then there's Northolt Park.
@2:11, where is that? I usually access the Bakerloo line via Praed Street and go down the back stairs.
So sad they didn't incorporate the Royal Mail sorting office into the new building. Instead we get a boring cube of nothingness.
looking for the bear after it was named....
I support people of determination, but my first question was this: in an emergency between stations, how do we quickly get them to safety?
The same way you assist able-bodied people in-between stations. You don't. The emergency alarms now instruct the driver to stop at the next station along.
It takes a lot of training for TfL staff to be able to do track walks - especially in tunnels. If you actually detrain a Bakerloo Line train underground, you need to turn off the electricity and then you can only evacuate passengers in small groups, with staff going with them to tell them where they can put their feet.
If you have people going down the tunnel of a deep level tube line you are probably looking at at least one hour with the power off. That's the opposite of "quickly get them to safety".
If you needed to get a wheelchair user out of the train, or someone else who has fairly limited mobility, you would probably be best off putting them onto a stretcher, so that they can be passed through the train car doors (where a wheelchair would not fit) and so they can be passed down to some workers on the track, who can get them to the platform at the next station. It would be awkward, but it's do-able. (Incidentally, people in the past would argue that disabled people were some sort of "health & safety hazard" and ban them from going to awkward places, instead of fixing the awkward places.)
👍🏻🇬🇧👀...
Your spam commenters are being very nice today.
If you are bare at Paddington are you Paddington bare?
Thank you for talking about disability.
Campaign for Level Boarding
hola
Jago? You being sentimental about a little thing? Sounds like something the doctors at St. Mary's might say to you.
First!
Thank you for this news. I use PAD quite a lot of the times when I'm travelling through London; ironically, I'm unlikely to see this marvellous rebuilding of its entrance, because I generally reach PAD using another recent, excellent addition to London's transport network, the Elizabeth line.
Have never liked Paddington, almost as much as I dislike the modern Euston
Yes, you're being far too sentimental for a poxy little entrance. If we saved EVERYTHING historical, we'd never get anywhere. Some things just HAVE to go. People really need to get over it.
You’re quite rude online in a way that I don’t think you would be face-to-face.
🏆...🥇 got in *F.I.R.S.T.* _😂_ *😂*
Hooray!
First