Lift piling nears completion at Wandsworth Town station
Foundation piling for new lifts at Wandsworth Town station is nearly finished, marking a construction milestone in a project intended to make every platform step-free. The station is due to remain open while the work continues, and the full upgrade is still targeted for summer 2027.
Work moves towards lift shafts
The piling forms the foundations for the new lift installations. With that phase nearing completion, the next major step is installation of the lift shafts. The project timetable previously placed shaft installation in February 2027; the latest update does not announce a revised date for that stage.
The scheme is planned to provide lifts serving all four platforms. A new second entrance and modern ticket hall are also planned at Odyssey Way, on the north side of the station. The entrance is intended to improve access from that side and will include ticket barriers. These are elements of an ongoing construction programme, not facilities already available to passengers.
When finished, the works are intended to create step-free routes through the station. The improvements are expected to help passengers with reduced mobility, people travelling with pushchairs and those carrying luggage. The current progress announcement does not state that step-free access is already available, nor does it give a confirmed opening date for individual lifts.
Station to stay open during construction
Wandsworth Town is expected to remain open throughout the work. Construction may involve temporary changes to entrances, platforms or routes at particular stages, so passengers should check current travel information before setting out. The latest update does not announce a station closure or a change to train services.
The station is on the South Western Railway network between Clapham Junction and Putney. More than 3.75 million passenger entries and exits were recorded there between April 2024 and March 2025, making it the network’s 15th busiest station in that period. That level of use helps explain why the construction is being carried out while the station continues to operate, although keeping a station open does not mean every route or facility will be unaffected at every point in the works.
Summer 2027 remains the target
The overall programme is scheduled for completion in summer 2027. That remains a target rather than a confirmation that the new facilities have opened. The published construction sequence envisages foundation work through 2026, followed by lift-shaft installation and the later completion of the entrance and associated station works.
The scheme is being delivered by Network Rail in partnership with South Western Railway and Wandsworth Council. It is funded by the council and the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme. The current update provides a new progress marker—piling is nearly finished—but does not give a revised project cost or say that the project has reached its final construction or commissioning stages.
Separately, the same council update made a claim about the entrance at Queenstown Road station. That is a different station and is not part of the Wandsworth Town construction milestone reported here. The Wandsworth Town update concerns the ongoing lift and Odyssey Way entrance project only.
For passengers, the immediate change is therefore on the construction site rather than in the station’s access arrangements: foundations are close to completion, while the lifts and second entrance remain planned works. Full step-free access is still expected only when the project is completed, with summer 2027 the current published target.
