£6.7m investment in Lawrence Hill station

£6.7 million of funding to install a new lift and improved stairs at Lawrence Hill railway station has been approved by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.

The investment for platform 2 will make the station, which first opened in 1863, step-free for the first time and fully accessible to everyone in 2027.

The lift will be installed on the southbound platform heading towards Bristol Temple Meads which currently only has steps. Platform 1 has access through the neighbouring Lidl car park.

People in Lawrence Hill have already warmly welcomed the news in a video.

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:

“We want all our stations to be fully accessible and that’s why we’re investing in improvements at Lawrence Hill to make the station step-free. The new lift and improved stairs will make a real difference that passengers can see and feel.

“Rail travel should be for everyone and we’re actively reviewing how we can improve other stations across the region.

“While we continue building new stations in this new chapter for the West, and plan for how best to invest some of the record £752 million for transport secured at the Spending Review to increase the frequency of services across our suburban network, our region’s older stations need investment.”

Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, said:

“The new lift at Lawrence Hill station will make it easier for people to access the train, especially those who find steps difficult. 

“It’s good to see money being invested on rail improvements in Bristol. Changes like this help people get to work, school and leisure activities more easily, and support greener ways to travel for everyone.”

Marcus Jones, Western Route Director at Network Rail, said:

“We welcome today’s announcement approving step-free access at Lawrence Hill station.

“We’re striving to make our railway as open and accessible to all as we can, and providing a lift at Lawrence Hill station will make travelling by train much easier for those with reduced mobility, people with pushchairs, cyclists, and passengers carrying heavy luggage.  

“With the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority we’re embarking on the biggest rail regeneration for the region in decades with more stations, more services and improvements across the railway, and today’s announcement brings us another step closer to bringing better rail travel for the people of Bristol and the west of England.”

Hannah Shackleford, Wales & West of England Development Manager for GWR, said:

“It’s great news to see the funding secured for this project. GWR wants to encourage as many people as possible in the communities that we serve to use our train services, and we’re delighted to be working with partners in the West of England to provide people with better connectivity in Bristol and beyond.

“This improvement work will help enable more customers to take advantage of the services we provide at Lawrence Hill station, offering more sustainable travel solutions, and connecting people to employment and leisure.”

Lawrence Hill is served by trains on the Severn Beach Line and over 350,000 people use the station each year.

The original cost estimates have been reduced by more than 10% thanks to plans to utilise a railway closure in August to carry out much of the lift shaft and staircase installation, including a bespoke raised walkway so as not to block the adjacent railway signals. A temporary footbridge connecting platforms 1 and 2 will need to be installed for passengers to use while the current steps to platform 2 are demolished and the new lift is fitted.

Further detailed design work will begin in November, once the regional authority has entered into a contract with Network Rail, with plans to start work on site in the summer. Platform 2 has railway tracks on either side, meaning that machinery and materials will need to be brought onto the site either via the existing stairs or during night-time closures of the railway. There will be some site construction works taking place overnight, maximising the limited opportunities to do work whilst trains aren’t running.

Improving accessibility at the station is part of the wider £400 million rail upgrade across the West, as well as creating new stations and increasing train services to better connect communities.

The accessibility of older stations across the region is also being reviewed. The Mayoral Combined Authority recently ran a survey recently asking people for their experiences of using stations across the region and what improvements they think should be made to make their journeys easier. Over 200 people completed the survey, with workshops set to take place in November to shape future plans.

Two new railway stations have opened in the region since 2023, Portway Park & Ride and Ashley Down. Five more will be built in the coming years: Charfield, Henbury, North Filton, Pill, and Portishead.  The final enabling works for the latter two sites started this week, ahead of construction in 2026.

Original press release by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority