Petts Wood has become the latest railway station in south east London to be made "fully accessible" with step-free access for passengers.

Works have been completed at the Southeastern-run station, which included the installation of four new lifts to enable customers with mobility needs to gain access to all parts of the station.

This is part of a multi-million pound programme funded by the Department of Transport’s (DfT) Access for All scheme, to create “obstacle free and accessible” routes for passengers from the station entrance to the platform.

The installation of the lifts marks the end of a 20-month project, after Network Rail commenced works in May 2020, which also included upgrades to the island platforms and the installation of new CCTV cameras.

Further works are also underway to replace the waiting room on platforms three and four with step-free access, along with upgrades to the toilets at platforms three and four to add new accessible toilets, and the installation of two extra customer information displays at each entrance to the new footbridge.

Petts Wood is the latest station in south east London to become fully accessible following Charlton and Catford in 2003, with further accessibility projects underway at Plumstead, Bexley and Shortlands to be completed over the next year.

Kate Warner, Network Rail’s Southern region business development and sponsorship director, said: “I’m delighted we’ve completed accessibility upgrades at Petts Wood, making this another fully accessible station for the benefit of our customers.

“We’re committed to making the railway people’s preferred choice of sustainable travel and making it easy and accessible for all rail users is critical to achieving this.

“We welcome the continued investment from the DfT and are continuing to work hard at other stations in south east London and Kent to make them step-free with Plumstead station and Bexley station both expected to be complete later this year.”

Further work is also being carried out for customers with access needs by Southeastern at a number of other stations, including refurbishing the accessible toilets at Bexley, Hither Green and Maze Hill stations, as well as replacing the handrails at New Cross, Beckenham Junction and Woolwich Dockyard stations.

Southeastern’s General Manager North, Sonia Maulson, said: “We want to deliver better journeys and make the railway open for everyone, so it’s great to see another of our stations is now fully step-free.

“To complement the work by our partners at Network Rail we are upgrading two toilets and a waiting room to make them more accessible and welcoming for customers as well as adding new travel information screens too.

“We believe these improvements will be welcomed by our customers and we look forward to opening the further facilities very soon.”