Network Rail sets out £24m of lifts, bridges and ramps at five west of England stations

Network Rail has announced more than £24m of accessibility improvements at five stations in the west of England, with new lifts, footbridges and ramps planned at Weston-super-Mare, Lostwithiel, Castle Cary, Cheltenham and Torquay.

The infrastructure owner set out the programme on 30 October 2026. It did not break the £24m figure down by station.

Thomas Madgwick, lead portfolio manager for Network Rail's Great Western route, said: "With new lifts, footbridges, ramps and improved passenger facilities being installed, these projects will make a real difference to people using our stations every day."

Weston-super-Mare

Two lifts are being fitted to the Grade II-listed footbridge at Weston-super-Mare, which Network Rail said would give step-free access between platforms for the first time. The footbridge opened in 1884 and the lifts are due to open to passengers in autumn 2027.

Footbridge refurbishment at Weston-super-Mare was listed in Network Rail's £5.2bn Wales and Western plan for Control Period 7, covering 2024 to 2029, published in May 2023.

A community drop-in event on the project takes place on Wednesday 4 November from 4.30pm to 6.30pm at Front Room Theatre, BS23 1FF.

Lostwithiel

On the Cornish Main Line, a new footbridge is under construction at Lostwithiel, which Network Rail described as the town's first permanent railway footbridge since the 1960s. It will replace a temporary bridge installed in 2024 and give access to both platforms.

Network Rail said the bridge would open in summer 2027. That is later than the timetable it gave in June 2022, when it confirmed £1.845m of funding for a footbridge over Grenville Road level crossing and said construction was scheduled to start that autumn, with the bridge opening the following spring. The company has not said whether the £1.845m forms part of the £24m total.

The 2022 release described a structure in fibre reinforced polymer, delivered in preassembled sections, with a design that could take lifts later, subject to funding being approved.

The bridge gives pedestrians an alternative to Grenville Road level crossing. Network Rail now says the barriers there can be down for up to 22 minutes in an hour; in 2022 it put the wait at an average of 22 minutes an hour.

Castle Cary, Cheltenham and Torquay

At Castle Cary, which Network Rail said would again handle thousands of passengers for Glastonbury Festival next June, a new accessible footbridge and lifts are planned, with work expected to start after the 2027 festival.

Cheltenham is to get a lift on the northbound platform and an accessible ramp on the southbound platform. The lift is due to open in spring 2028. Network Rail said in March 2026 that the previous year's Cheltenham Festival had brought 12,700 extra rail passengers to Cheltenham Spa compared with a regular week.

At Torquay, a 13-metre ramp will link platforms one and two via Hennapyn Road, and a waiting room and accessible toilet will be built on the northbound platform, alongside changes to accessible parking and drop-off areas. Network Rail said this work forms part of the Government's Access for All programme and is due to finish in spring 2027. The release did not state the funding source for the other four stations.

Joe Graham, Business Assurance and Property Director for GWR, said: "These upgrades will make a real difference for passengers, providing easier access and better facilities for people travelling across the region."

Access for All

The Department for Transport (DfT) has committed £373m over five years to Access for All projects and intends to move the programme to a rolling commitment of up to £70m a year, according to its accessible railways roadmap.

The DfT said 31 Access for All projects were delivered between April 2024 and 3 October 2025, and that the works together would raise the share of step-free stations across Great Britain from 56% to 58%.

The first of the five west of England schemes to complete is due to be Torquay, in spring 2027, followed by the Lostwithiel footbridge in summer 2027, the Weston-super-Mare lifts in autumn 2027 and the Cheltenham lift in spring 2028.