Upgrades to Peckham Rye station have been installed to tackle congestion, writes Jessica Farmer…
Famously known as the busiest interchange station in the UK without step-free access (or lifts to the platforms) more 6 million passengers use it.
The recent improvements by Network Rail include a wider gateline, new passenger information screens and upgraded CCTV.
The number of ticket gates at the station, just off Rye Lane in Peckham, has increased by 50 per cent, to avoid people queuing up the stairs and around the gates.
New passenger information screens have been added to Platforms 1 and 2 to encourage full use of the platform and reduce crowding on both platforms and trains.
Andrew Wood, Network Rail’s Senior Commercial Scheme Sponsor, said: “These improvements at Peckham Rye will make a real difference for passengers, creating more space, easing congestion and making it quicker and easier to move through the station.
“This is an important step in ensuring the station can manage the growing number of passengers using it while also enhancing the user experience.”
The works form part of wider upgrades to Peckham Rye which aim to improve safety, reduce congestion, and prepare the station for future growth.
Relatedarticles
Peckham Rye Station was given £5 million from the government and Southwark Council to address overcrowding concerns – but many local people are still disappointed that they will not be getting lifts.
Residents told the News last summer that the lack of step-free access in the station was leading to elderly and disabled residents being forced to slide down the stairs on their bottoms.
Peckham Rye had been due to get a £40 million upgrade which would have given it lifts for the first time. However Network Rail shelved the plans last summer, saying it needed to “prioritise funding on the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and economic growth as soon as possible.”
Network Rail’s improvements to the increasingly busy station began in May this year and included changes to the booking hall, which more than 6 million people pass through each year, with a further 1 million passengers interchanging between trains at the station.
The works to the booking hall revealed a section of Peckham Rye that had been hidden for 30 years.
Network Rail’s next phase of work will aim to open additional doorways to ease entry and exit from the station.
Other phases will tackle narrow sections of Platforms 3 and 4 and refurbish the platform canopies, in the same style as the canopies from 1961.
The overall programme is due for completion in late 2027.
