According to the Network Rail link Michael posted:

(My emphasis added).
I wouldn't have thought we'll see our ?2.7m worth of bridge open until just before the East London Line starts running again.

I am hoping that it takes less than 6 months to build a footbridge. They did start work earlier than I had expected, but then they do seem to be excavating a big hole - maybe it is really the Bakerloo line come to connect us to Charing Cross.

six months to build a footbridge and GBP 2.7 million. What would Mr Brunel have said.
It seems an incredible amount of money. Surely it will be a prefabricated structure that they will lift into place.
I woncer how much tickets from Forest Hill will have to increase to pay for this very expensive bridge. At that rate a new Severn Bridge would cost more than the national debt.

The GBP 2.7m clearly includes much more than the footbridge alone.

Very true. I hope that means that the footbridge part of the project will be completed and accessible to people using the station considerably earlier than the Spring 2010 completion date for the entire project.

Thats exactly what I was thinking - ?2.7m!!!!

Are they planning on buiding a shopping plaza next to it?!

I think realistically a little cafe with-in the station would be cool selling bacon rolls and decent coffee!

I think people under estimate the cost of these projects. Specialist equipment/crews etc.
Some of the figures just for the new layout of Perry Vale were quite scary.
The new entrance to the car park, and local paving was something daft like 30k

For the bridge, if its to include lifts etc, it sounds like the work will be quite extensive.

Not sure they would have been better just using money to improve services etc.
On D Day they installed a much larger Mulberry Harbour in a few hours.
Surely a lot chepaer to install ramps on the underpass plus a lifr at Perry Vale side.

Then there's operating costs - to keep the lifts free of urine and in operational order.

That's just taking the p....

Indeed it does, as it clearly says in the press release quoted.

Ive heard the new footbridge will now cost 4.9m. The contractors incorrectly qouted 2009 prices, becuase the work will finish in 2010 they had to amend it to take into account of inflation, rail rises, metal prices etc.

Of course, the steps will be paved with gold!

2.7 million works out at about GBP 100.00 per person in SE23. Seems a lot especially as many of them do not use the train

Are you forgetting for how many years will we see benefits of that investment Brian? If the bridge (etc) is still standing in even 10 years then the cost seems like a reasonable infrastructure investment to me. I'd rather they spend the money and get it right than have to revisit it again at higher cost later.

True
Let us be positive after all the money is going to be spent. Just seems with the economy of UK OF gb and NI going down the plug hole , we could have soldiered on with the existing situtaion , with minor changes

The question is, who wants these lifts?

If a lift is out, there is no plan B for a disabled person to exit from platform 2. We just know that at least one will be out of order for enough of the time to make the service unreliable.

A better solution as we all know, is making an exit to the car park.
But if that is not possible, then why not construct a long metal ramp starting from where they are currently tipping the dirt into the ~xmas tree yard (the wall sticks out 6' here), all the way to the bottom of the stairs. (replacing the steep stairs from platform 2).
I believe there used to be 2 staircases in this area, so it is not an entirely new idea.

Any money left over could be used to install a lift in the pedestrian underpass.

Problem is, some of it is going to be about land ownership. They dont own the land they are using at the mo, that belongs to the cab office.

I get the point about there being no plan B, but that might not yet be the case. Im sure they have thought about it at length.

Its great to see the usual level of positive thinking here on SE23 lol

I agree Perryman
Would be great if the lifts work all the time but experience tells us otherwise.
Too late now though so besr make the mosy of a bad job.

I agree about the lifts - I have for instance always found that the ones near the Charing X bridge at the RFH are never working and have ended up having to ask complete strangers to help get the buggy down two very long sets of steps. If someone was disabled they would not be able to access Charing X station or would be stuck on the railway bridge.

The problem is once a lift is installed, expectations of being able to use it will increase and I would also be concerned about people in wheelchairs getting stuck on Platform 2. The only option would be the Fire Brigade.
I worked on a social housing development near Excel in Docklands some years ago. A resident in a wheelchair was left on the DLR platform for several hours during the night as the lift was not working so he was stranded. He managed to shout loudly enough to wake up a local resident who called the Fire Brigade to rescue him. The chances of someone disabled getting off a train alone at night are probably slim at FH but its entirely possible during the day. This incident as well as my own experience with a disabled parent in a wheelchair, has made me very concerned about too much reliance being placed on lifts especially when they are external and in extensive use. There will always be someone who doesn't close the door properly hence preventing it working. There needs to be either a back up lift and /or second level access with the lift used as a back up- ie into and through Perry Vale car park. To proceed with one lift from either platform is very naive when it comes to the realities faced by physically challenged people.