Hertford North fully step-free as platform 1 lift opens under Access for All

Network Rail opened a new lift serving platform 1 at Hertford North station on Friday 6 November, completing an Access for All scheme that makes every platform at the Great Northern station reachable without stairs.

Representatives of Network Rail, BAM and station operator Great Northern attended the opening alongside Josh Dean, MP for Hertford and Stortford, and Peter Ruffles, a former councillor and campaigner for the scheme, Network Rail said.

Platforms 2 and 3 already had step-free access, so the new lift closes the last gap at the station, according to Network Rail.

Nicola Butterworth, Network Rail senior sponsor, said: "This is an important improvement which will make a real difference to people who previously found using platform 1 difficult, helping to make the railway easier and more accessible."

The scheme

The work was funded through the Department for Transport's (DfT) Access for All programme, which Network Rail said has upgraded more than 200 stations across Britain.

Network Rail reported in February 2026 that the lift shaft superstructure had been installed, and said at the time that all works at Hertford North were due to complete in autumn 2026. Mr Dean visited the site on Monday 9 February while construction was under way.

Carl Martin, accessibility lead for Great Northern, said in February that it was "extremely encouraging to see progress being made". The November opening meets the autumn completion date Network Rail set out then.

Service increase

The lift opens ahead of a timetable change on the route. Great Northern has announced that from Monday 14 December it will double its off-peak service between Moorgate and Hertford North to four trains an hour, Monday to Saturday, Network Rail said.

Antony Merlyn, accessibility engagement manager at Great Northern, said Hertford North is one of the operator's busier stations, used by more than one million people a year. He said lifts benefit everyone who finds stairs a barrier and that for some disabled passengers the project could be life-changing.

Access for All funding

The DfT's accessible railway roadmap commits £373m over five years to Access for All projects, with Network Rail as delivery lead and the programme ongoing to 2029. The department said it aims to move the programme to a rolling commitment of up to £70m a year.

The DfT expects the committed works to raise the proportion of step-free stations across Great Britain from 56% to 58%.

The department has said a future round of Access for All may be funded as part of the next spending review, but that the process and timings for identifying potential future projects have not yet been decided.

Great Northern's doubled off-peak Moorgate to Hertford North service starts on Monday 14 December.