Three Ealing stations may finally get lifts (From Ealing Times)

Three Ealing stations may finally get lifts

11:08pm Tuesday 15th November 2011 in Local News By Hannah Kurzawski

GREENFORD, Northolt and Perivale tube stations may be fitted with lifts after London Mayor Boris Johnson agreed to look at plans.

They would benefit the elderly, disabled and parents with pushchairs and young children by making the stations more accessible.

Ealing residents were left disappointed in 2009 when Mr Johnson, who chairs Transport for London, cancelled work to improve accessibility at stations.

He wrote off £20m that had already been spent on enhancing six stations across London, including £2.9m spent on work to install lifts at Greenford.

London Assembly member Murad Qureshi (Lab) questioned the mayor on the subject at a City Hall transport meeting last week, resulting in Mr Johnson lending his support to reinstating the plans.

Mr Qureshi said: “Everyone should have the right to access London's transport network - not just those without restrictions on their mobility.”

Supporters claim that recent work completed by Ealing Council proves that upgrades to all three stations could be completed for less than £10million - considerably less than the TfL’s previous estimates.

Ealing councillor Bassam Mahfouz (Lab) said: “We are committed to using innovative ways to deliver step-free access at our stations at a fraction of the cost suggested by TfL. “We are taking a lead on this because we know how important it is for so many of our residents, giving them full access to get across the capital easily. “Working with TfL we hope to have a workable solution in the next few weeks to be considered."