Kings Langley station gets a footbridge and three lifts from November 2026, done by July 2027. Step-free access was first promised in 2019, for March 2024.

Kings Langley station is to get a new footbridge and three lifts, giving step-free access to every platform for the first time. Network Rail says work starts in November 2026 and should finish by July 2027.

The scheme costs £10.6 million. It is paid for by the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme. Network Rail announced it on 30 September (London Northwestern Railway press release, 30 September 2026).

The station is on Station Road, about three and a half miles south of Hemel Hempstead town centre. Its trains run to London Euston and north through Apsley and Hemel.

What the work includes

Network Rail lists:

  • a new footbridge
  • three lifts, giving an accessible route from the entrance to every platform
  • better lighting
  • more CCTV
  • an improved passenger announcement system
  • better power supplies
  • fire refuge areas

Network Rail says it will tell passengers and residents about any temporary changes needed during construction before work starts on site.

Five years late on the first promise

This is not the first time step-free access has been announced here. In April 2019 the station was picked for Access for All funding, subject to “a feasible design being possible”. The work was then “due to be carried out by March 2024” (London Northwestern Railway press release, 4 April 2019).

If the new dates hold, the lifts will open more than three years after that target. Neither release explains the delay.

Rail Minister Lord Hendy said the lifts would give passengers “the step-free access they’ve long called for”.

How the station works now

National Rail rates Kings Langley as step-free category B3. That means there is some step-free access to the platforms, but it may be in one direction only. There are no lifts. The National Rail station page also says the accessible toilets are out of order (National Rail, Kings Langley station).

The same page lists:

  • Ticket office and staff: 6am to 7.40pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 3pm Saturday, 10am to 3pm Sunday
  • Car park: 209 spaces, 7 of them accessible

How busy it is

The Office of Rail and Road estimates 507,206 entries and exits at Kings Langley in the year to March 2025. That is close to Apsley’s 518,088. Hemel Hempstead station had 1,610,586. London Euston is the most common journey from all three (ORR, estimates of station usage, April 2024 to March 2025).

What it means for you

  • If you use a wheelchair, a buggy or heavy luggage, check National Rail’s station page before you travel until the lifts open. Assistance can be booked through Passenger Assist.
  • During the works, expect notices at the station about any closed paths or platform changes. Network Rail has said it will publish them before work begins.
  • If you missed the drop-in: Network Rail held one at the station on Tuesday 6 October. Questions can go to London Northwestern Railway through its website.

For times and fares to London from the Hemel stations, see our Hemel Hempstead train times to London page, and for closures on the line, our roadworks and travel page.

Sources