Greater Anglia advises passengers of Chelmsford station lift upgrade works

Work is about to begin to renew the passenger lifts at Chelmsford train station to improve facilities for customers.

Both lifts have reached the end of their life and will be replaced one after the other (not at the same time) to improve facilities for customers.

As a result, passengers are being advised that the lift to platform 2 will be out of use from 9 November 2023 until the end of March 2024 and the lift on platform 1 will be out of use from 4 April 2024 until the end of August 2024.

Both lifts need to be replaced due to their age and the scarcity of replacement parts. Greater Anglia is carrying out this work to improve lift reliability and the overall travel experience for passengers.

For passengers who cannot use the stairs, Greater Anglia is putting in place a number of measures to enable people with accessibility needs to continue to travel, which have been agreed with Greater Anglia’s Accessibility Panel.

These include extra staff on hand to help passengers and the provision of accessible taxis where needed.

During the first phase of the works, to replace the lift on platform 2, a step-free route will be available via a road leading to the station car park (off Railway Street) with staff on hand to help passengers.

(Note that platform 2 is for trains towards Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich, Braintree, Sudbury, Harwich, and Clacton-on-Sea).

Those who cannot use the stairs at Chelmsford station are advised to plan in advance, allowing extra time for their journeys, and to contact Greater Anglia’s Passenger Assistance service to discuss their journey in advance.

Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, Simone Bailey, said: 

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience while we renew the lifts at Chelmsford.

“This work is essential to maintain the function and reliability of the lifts and will improve passenger facilities at the station.

“We will do everything we can to ensure people can still make their journeys with as little inconvenience as possible while this work is being carried out, and we look forward to getting each lift back open as quickly as possible.”

More information on alternative arrangements during the work to replace the lift on platform 1 (from 4 April 2024 until the end of August 2024) will be provided in due course.