London Paddington Railway Station

The Elizabeth line is separate from the National Rail part of Paddington and the other Underground lines. There are escalators and lifts that travel down to the ticket hall for the Elizabeth line and then there is another lift to travel down to the platform. The platforms themselves have floor-to-ceiling Platform Screen Doors, which means there is no open access at the edge of the platform. There are doors along the glass partitions which align with the train doors. This station offers step-free access on and off the train at the train stops level with the platform with a very minimal gap. There are always members of staff on the platform in case you require assistance at your destination and they can call ahead before you board the train.

Paddington Station is one of the busiest London stations with Great Western Rail and Heathrow Express services departing and arriving from it. The station is quite large and can be tricky to navigate when it is very busy. There are lots of different amenities throughout the station including the ticket office, station reception, self-serve ticket machines, toilets, a Changing Places toilet, and various shops and food outlets. I was able to find step-free access to all of the amenities, many are based around the ticket hall and are on the same level. For things that are on other levels there were escalators and lifts available. There are a number of entrances to the station which connect to the surrounding streets without the need to navigate any stairs or lifts. The station reception is where those needing assistance with their travel are also directed to and the signage in the station provides directions for both “station reception” and “assisted travel” so it is very straightforward to locate the right spot. The reception is always manned and they will organise the staff and assistance you need. It’s recommended that you prebook any assistance you need via the Passenger Assistance app, which is what I do when I travel. Once I arrive they always have my details with all my travel and access information from my Passenger Assistance booking. The reception has seating available as well as some plug sockets. There are also two small accessible toilets that also have baby-changing facilities inside the station reception. While this station can get busy and feel overwhelming I find that the signage around the station is clear and the staff are great. I particularly love the Paddington shop where you can buy almost anything you can think of with Paddington the bear on it!

Visited Paddington Railway Station to find that very disappointingly they switch off the two lifts connecting Eastbourne Terrace at street level with the station on Sundays. The lifts do not operate on Sundays when the Elizabeth Line is closed.