LIFT access is finally set to be installed at a major transport hub in time for the Olympic Games.

Campaign group Access All Areas petitioned the Department for Transport more than a year ago demanding Bromley South station be fully accessible by 2012, ahead of the previously scheduled date of before 2015.

Building work has now been brought forward to next year and is due to be completed by March 2012.

Currently commuters can only get to the station’s four platforms via two flights of stairs.

Tory MP for Bromley and Chislehurst Bob Neill, who has backed the campaign from the start, received confirmation the plans are expected to go ahead from Transport Minister Theresa Villiers.

On welcoming the news, Mr Neill said: “Everyone in my constituency knows how busy Bromley South station is.

“However, the absence of lift access to both platforms has presented a huge obstacle for residents who are elderly, disabled, or travel with young children.

“Once enhancement works are completed, many Bromley residents will have a significantly enhanced freedom to reach central London and the many employment opportunities and attractions it offers.”

In a report last year by Station Champions, Bromley South came 16th in a ‘name and shame’ list of the worst 30 stations in the country.

And according to Access All Areas, the station is the 49th busiest railway station in the country with an annual footfall of more than six million passengers.

Bromley Council’s executive councillor for environment Councillor Colin Smith said: “The council continues to strongly support Bob Neill’s campaign to secure the funding for this long awaited improvement.

“Anyone who uses the station knows just what a third world experience it can be down there at busy times for all users.

“Conditions for the less bodily abled and those in wheelchairs remain an absolute disgrace.

“The case for the upgrade is clearly indisputable and urgent.”

However Cllr Smith, Conservative, said there were nerves ahead of the autumn spending review as to whether cuts may derail the station’s badly needed improvements.

He said: “Hopefully Bob will be able to impress on key decision makers just how badly this investment is needed and why it must be allowed to progress.

“We've waited a very long time for this and expect them to deliver.”

A WHEELCHAIR USER'S VIEW

Wheelchair user Ann Greenfield, of Friar Road, St Paul’s Cray, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour 12 years ago, which she has had three operations on.

The 52-year-old suffers from hydrocephalus, also known as “water on the brain”, and subsequently has poor balance and trouble moving without falling over.

Mrs Greenfield, a former chef at Biggin Hill Airport, said: “It’s great news they are finally doing it. I used to use Bromley South all the time but since I became a wheelchair user, I’ve not used it because there’s no lift.

“I can use steps to a certain degree but there are too many at Bromley South.

“My great delight is being able to be an independent person and go shopping or out for lunch with the girls in Bromley. I would be able to do that if they put lifts in at the station.

“It’s been a long time coming.”