Clapham Junction station, one of London’s busiest interchanges, is set to become more welcoming as Network Rail starts the second phase of a project to improve its facilities and environment.

The work will start this autumn when Network Rail will carry out £15.5m of work to reduce congestion and improve passenger flow at the station.

Improvements will be made to the toilets and baby changing facilities for passengers, including those with restricted mobility, and there will be more shops and cafes. Space is being made for five new retail units, and there are plans to include new coffee shops and newsagents, and increase the amount of space for passengers.

To improve accessibility and reduce overall congestion, the Brighton Yard entrance at bridge level off St John’s Hill, is being remodelled. As part of the long-term plans, the ticket office at the main entrance (Brighton Yard) is to be permanently closed, but more ticket machines will be added.

During the work, the ticket office at the St John’s Hill entrance will remain open for passengers, but the number of cycle storage spaces will be temporarily reduced.

The third phase of work is scheduled to start in December when the current staircases on platforms 13 and 14 will be replaced and widened to improve safety, which will improve the capacity for more people to pass through at once, which in turn will reduce congestion.

The works are all part of a £35m programme of work designed to improve passengers’ overall experience at the station.

Adrian Gogay, Network Rail, senior sponsor, said: “Clapham Junction station is one of London’s busiest interchanges, situated at the heart of South West London and we believe it needs to be given some love to make it a more pleasant and enjoyable experience for passengers who are travelling to and from it.

“We welcome the major investment from the Department for Transport and are working closely with our partners to help improve and grow the station to make it more comfortable for passengers when travelling.

“So far, our teams have completed a series of improvements, including installing and rolling out free passenger WiFi, refurbishing the lifts to improve accessibility, and repainting the overbridge from platform one to six.”

Christian Neill, South Western Railway’s customer experience director, said: “Clapham Junction is one of the busiest and most important stations on our network, so we very much welcome this significant investment, which will help reduce congestion and make the station more attractive and accessible for customers. It has been fantastic to see the improvements made to date and we look forward to our customers seeing the full results of this £35m programme of work when it completes.”