Balham station is to undergo a £1m, seven month programme of improvements under the Department for Transport’s National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP).
The objective of the NSIP scheme is to provide noticeable and lasting improvements for rail passengers at approximately 150 medium-sized stations throughout England and Wales. At Balham, this will be brought to life spectacularly for the passengers who use the station.
Network Rail and Southern are working together on the project which will include:
- Opening a second station access with ticket gates from Balham High Road leading to the bottom of the platform stairs
- Remodelling the existing station access / booking hall / ticket office – moving the gateline further back and demolishing the empty shop
- Making the ticket office area directly accessible with a new ramp from the pavement and two height adjustable ticket office windows useable by passengers in wheelchairs
These changes will increase the space available to passengers, especially at busy times, and provide easier access with more room around the ticket office.
Also planned is:
- New flooring
- A repaint of the station
- Extra ticket machines
- A new cycle parking facility
Southern’s NSIP Project Manager, Pieter Wilke said: “Thanks to NSIP, Balham station will be transformed. We will have a station we are proud to present to our passengers and I’m sure people will be able to enjoy the station and its new facilities for many years to come.”
Mark Ruddy, Network Rail’s route director for Sussex, said: “We want to attract more people to use the railway. This means giving passengers the end-to-end journey experience they expect, including making the railway easier to access and providing a better station environment and more modern facilities. The planned improvements at Balham will make a big difference for the passengers who use the station for more than five million journeys every year.”
Work on the project begins in mid-April and is due to be completed during October.
To add the final touches, Southern will have the entire station will be deep cleaned and repainted once the work has finished.
