London 2012 Olympics “Step Free” Programme

A man in a wheelchair sits on a platform at a train station

In 2005, Direct Access’ Founder and Director Steven Mifsud was subcontracted to take the lead on achieving the London ‘Step Free’ programme ahead of the London 2012 Olympics. The project was to ensure that London’s rail network was made ready for the 2012 Olympic Games, hosted at 33 venues (17 for the Paralympics which followed).

The London Underground is the world’s oldest underground railway serving 4.8m passengers each day with significant challenges in refurbishment of existing stations and construction of new ones. The majority of 72 tube stations, 57 London Overground stations, and 6 TfL Rail stations now have step-free access as a result of Direct Access consultancy services and a further £200m (AED 973m) has been identified to increase this to 100 tube stations as part of the ongoing Olympic legacy.  

One key project element was to achieve an overall 46% increase in capacity on the Jubilee line which provided the link to the Olympic Park as well as the O2 complex (former Millennium Dome), central sporting, accommodation, and leisure venues along with the ExCel Centre via the Canning Town Docklands Light Railway interchange.

Direct Access audited 22 stations which included key interchanges at Bank, Monument, Westminster, Embankment, Waterloo, and Wembley stations. Audits included a complete review of existing on-site provisions with detailed reports utilising guidance:

A platform at an Underground subway station in London. Tactile paving can be seen and multiple advertisement posters on the walls.
  • Equality Act 2010 
  • Part M Building Regulations – Access to and use of Buildings 
  • BS 8300 Design of Buildings and Their Approach to Meet the Needs of Disabled People  
  • Accessible Train Station Design for Disabled People: A Code of Practice  
  • Railways For All – The Accessibility Strategy for Great Britain’s Railways 

As part of this project Direct Access led a consortium of disabled user groups to ensure that their input was included at the design stages. The requirements of each disability cohort can be significantly different and the best practical solutions had to be identified through stakeholder engagement.

Direct Access also audited Tottenham Court Road station in the heart of London’s West End on behalf of Hawkins/Brown Architects and advised on enabling step-free access as part of the £600m (AED 2.9Bn) refurbishment of the station both for the Olympics and the new Elizabeth line opening in December 2018 (previously named Crossrail, a £15Bn (AED 73Bn) rail project).  

Furthermore, Direct Access was part of the design consortia for Stratford International, the new station that was designed to serve the main Olympic Park as the terminus for the Jubilee Line and Docklands Light Railway. It also provides a key Central Line interchange and Network Rail High Speed One Javelin route from St Pancras to Ebbsfleet and Ashford to Paris, Brussels, and Lille.  As part of the £100m (AED 487m) investment programme access to the Central Line was improved. 

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