Overview

Clapham Junction is one of the UK's busiest transport hubs. It has lifts to all platforms and staff usually on hand to provide help and ramp assistance. There is one accessible toilet. There are plenty of shops and places selling food and drink, and there's a shopping concourse at the main entrance. The station is also served by London Overground, which offers a turn-up-and-go service - no need to book assistance 24 hours in advance.

Transport & Parking

Absurd to try and park nearby. But the area is rammed with buses all the time, and zillions of trains pass through the station every day.

Access

The recent introduction of lifts to all platforms has made the station a good place for wheelchair users, & staff are usually on hand to assist with ramps. But there are problems. (1) If you are arriving by train, even if staff have been informed, it is common to be stranded on the train with no ramp assistance in sight. (2) If you want to board a train, it can be hard to find staff to help. (3) The lifts often break down. (4) Some staff are disgustingly rude and unhelpful.

Toilets

There is only one accessible toilet, on the raised concourse above platform 17. It's often grubby. The red emergency cord hangs in a remote corner and dangles behind a rubbish bin: it is, therefore, absolutely useless, completely inaccessible to anyone who falls to the floor. This is a mind-bogglingly silly piece of design. See my picture below.

Staff

The staff vary from (occasionally) very friendly to (generally) disgustingly rude & insulting. The staff on Platform 15 are exceptionally rude and unhelpful, and often astonishingly ignorant about the correct and safe way to deploy a wheelchair ramp. Staff can be very elusive - many times I have got stuck on a train waiting for someone to turn up with a ramp to let me off. They either don't get the message that has been transmitted, or they ignore it. This is very frustrating and annoying. I dread using this station, because of the attitude of the staff.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

If you enter the station via the shopping concourse in St John's Hill, you can reach the raised concourse via a lift underneath Platform 1 at the opposite end of the concourse, and then take a second (different) lift from Platform 1 to the upper level; or you can enter the station at the raised concourse level via the charming old station building (pic attached below) further down St John's Hill.

Photos