Hello
I am going to MS Life next month Is there a lift at Bank underground station to transfer from the Northern Line to the DLR that will take me to the Excel exhibition Centre. I need a lift because I use a mobility scooter
Thanks
Patrick
From memory you might have to go direct from Tower Gateway, or change at Westferry if using Bank, but best send TFL a mail and ask them to confirm.
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Bank Station is an absolute nightmare with a number of individual stations “cobbled” together to make what is supposed to be one It is like an Escher painting not everything looks as it should and 1 wrong turn can have you walking miles to move a few yards. I would avoid it at all costs (even if you were walking) so it might be better to check the TFL website for a journey planner with accessibility options. www.tfl.gov.uk
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What is your starting location? It might be better to look at a different route with better changes.
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Hello Boblatina,
I get the train to Euston. The plan is to take the Northern line from Kings Cross to Bank. I know Bank station is a nightmare and not wheelchair accessible from street level. The tube map shows a man in a wheelchair so there must be access there.at some point.
Where is the access?
Contact TFL? They should be able to tell you.
Hello Ssssue,
I contacted TfL, 20 minute wait for an answer on the phone. I dialled 0343 222 1234, option 3. There is a lift at street level for Bank in King William Street that will get me down to the DLR. Not too sure exactly where on King William Street
Looks like I use the Northern line from Kings Cross to London Bridge then use mobility scooter to get to the lift for Bank station. Now DLR to get to Excel.
Patrick
It seems pretty intrepid of you to make the journey. And given how hard it is to get the information, it makes me wonder how on earth TFL expect the disabled to be able to use the transport system in London.
Have a good trip Patrick.
Sue
Right, I had a little bit of research on the TFL website and I think I have some good news but also some bad news!
First, the bad news, from personal experience (albeit as a user of two crutches rather than a scooter user) the Northern Line in its central parts is one of the worst Tube lines for accessibility. It is one of the oldest lines and space is very much at a premium. Although some of the major stations like London Bridge and Waterloo have been improved the general lack of space and the fact that it is a decline as meant that any improvements that have been possible are very much constrained.
I would very much doubt that you can actually get to Euston Tube Station directly from Euston overground step free. You are likely to be able to get from one tube line (or branch) to most of the others without any steps because it is a major interchange point for tube lines. However, I don’t believe but there is direct step free access from the street/train station to the tube. (It is a couple of years since I used Euston myself and there are constant improvements so you might want to check up on that.)
However, Kings Cross is very close to Euston and it is almost as quick to “walk” it rather than do a non-stop journey – it is one of those journeys that experienced tube users giggle at tourists doing a bit like changing trains at Leicester Square to go to Covent Garden!
Looking at the way the tube map expresses access at Bank, I think that this accords with my memory of the station in that the step free access from the street is directed to the DLR but, essentially, separate from the rest of the station. I think this means that you can start your step free journey on DLR from outside but you cannot access DLR step free from one of the other lines inside the station. In my opinion, this would make changing out Bank a complete no-no.
Also, from my last trip to London, step free access at London Bridge is also a bit of a mare with access between some lines being easy but between others being very difficult. Added to this, London Bridge is in the middle of a massive regeneration because of Crossrail so certain part of it are often closed and a lot of services do not run there at various times.
So, is there any good news? Well, possibly. I have looked on the TFL journey planner which allows you to plan your journey from A to B with various requirements including step free.
They have come up with a step free route between Euston and Custom House DLR which is the station for ExCel. The journey is a bit of a faff with a few changes – but it is step free and, even if you were as good on your pins as Usain Bolt, it is a journey that would always require changes!
They suggest the following 2 routes:
Number 1
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Get to Kings Cross (they suggest a bus but see my comments above)
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Circle Line to Liverpool Street
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Overground to Stratford
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Jubilee Line to Canning Town underground
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DLR to Custom House
Number 2
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Bus to Waterloo Station
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Jubilee Line to Canning Town
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DLR to Custom House
Buses in London are very good for disability access now. The majority in the centre of London are the updated Routemasters which were designed explicitly to cater for issues of access.
Of course, there is always going to be the question of what time you are travelling and how busy the trains, tubes and buses are likely to be. It is all well and good to have the CAPABILTY to use the tube or the bus but, if it is full of commuters packed like sardines, such a capability becomes rather academic!
To be honest, I have reservations about the sense of something like MSLife being organised in the ExCel. It is a great venue and it does have good access for people coming in by car but London is, by reasons of size and geography, not the easiest city to navigate by a person with limited mobility using public transport. That was one of the main reasons why I decided to move out of London. It is a city that I love but, in my view, it is no city to grow old or to be disabled in.
Hope you have a great time.
Just to make it clear that anything that I say above about the facilities at each station should take into account the fact that I moved out of London four years ago now and, although I do go there regularly, my references to individual stations might be a little bit out of date. (Although, not as out of date as I might like As until scientists can discover a way of transporting passengers by transportation beam, the simple laws of physics prevent the enormous improvements in access to transport for the disabled that we all would want.)
Mind you, London Underground is still light-years ahead of the New York subway in terms of access
Forgot to say, the time estimated for the journey from Euston to ExCel is 61-63 minutes.
An alternative option would be to get a cab from Euston to Tower Gateway (which does have a lift), unless the additional expense is a factor.
I assume this would be possible if using a Travelscoot.
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If you intend to go to London Bridge then you can get the Jubilee Line to Canning Town and pick up the DLR from there.
Just a thought and it has the advantage of avoiding Bank.