Southern and Thameslink passengers at one of south London’s most important interchange stations can once again enjoy step-free access between platforms and the station concourse now Network Rail has finished replacing unreliable 24-year-old lifts.

Lifts at Sutton station are essential for wheelchair users, elderly people, parents with children in buggies and others with heavy luggage.

But their lack of reliability was making it difficult for passengers to plan their journeys with confidence.

To speed replacement work, engineers for Network Rail worked on all three lifts simultaneously to finish the work in just 17 weeks – less than half the time it would have taken if they’d replaced them one by one.

And Southern and Thameslink provided assistance during the work to help passengers take alternative routes if they couldn’t negotiate the stairs.

Completed a fortnight ago, the lifts have now finished a period of informal testing in public use and can be declared ‘open’. As an added bonus, the capacity of one of the lifts was increased from 16 to 20 people.

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail Sussex route director, said: “The existing lifts at Sutton station had been in use for 24 years and needed replacing to give passengers reliable step-free access to the rail network.

“We knew this was going to be disruptive, particularly to passengers with accessibility needs, but by replacing all three simultaneously, we finished the job much faster.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director at Govia Thameslink Railway which runs Southern and Thameslink trains and manages Sutton station, said:

 “Sutton station is an important interchange as well as a destination in its own right, so it's really good news that Network Rail has finished replacing the ageing lifts that were becoming increasingly unreliable. I'd like to thank all our passengers for their patience.”

Luke Taylor, the MP for Sutton and Cheam, said: 

“It’s fantastic to see this work completed, as Sutton residents have been desperate for new, more reliable lifts for a long time.

“The station now being back to full and more consistent levels of accessibility is a huge win for our area.”