Government funding to make stations accessible to all

Forty-two train stations in England, Scotland and Wales will receive a share of a £100 million government fund to improve access for disabled passengers, Rail Minister Baroness Kramer announced today (Tuesday 29 April).

The stations will benefit from improved access as part of the Access for All scheme. Previous work under the scheme has included improvements such as new ramps, lifts or tactile paving.

Rail Minister Baroness Kramer said: “We are transforming our railways through record levels of investment and improving accessibility at stations is an important part of that.

“These improvements will make a real difference to the lives of disabled passengers and those with limited mobility, allowing them to get to work and pursue leisure activities more easily. That’s good news for them and good news for the economy.”

Detailed designs and costing for each station will be drawn up by Network Rail in due course, and the projects will be completed by 2019.

Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said: “More and more people are travelling on our railways than ever before, so it’s important that we make taking the train as easy as possible for everyone. Better accessibility will mean a better experience for people with reduced mobility, carrying heavy luggage or travelling with children, but we’ll also be investing to improve signage and customer information for all passengers.”

Dominic Booth, the Rail Delivery Group’s lead on stations, said: “The rail industry has worked hard to improve facilities for disabled passengers which are better now than they’ve ever been with record numbers choosing to travel by train. This latest funding will mean improving even more stations all around the country to encourage disabled people to live more mobile lives.”

The stations were nominated by the rail industry and selected for funding according to passenger numbers, the needs of the local area and proximity to facilities such as hospitals or schools for disabled children.

A total of £460 million has been invested in improving access to our railways since 2006. In addition to the 42 stations announced today, the Access For All scheme will have delivered step-free routes at more than 150 other stations by 2015, while a further 1,100 stations have already benefited from smaller-scale improvements. The rail industry is also required to make access improvements in line with line with EU and UK standards whenever they carry out infrastructure works at stations.

The full list of stations approved for funding is:

London and the South East
West Hampstead; Queen’s Park; Tottenham Hale; Peckham Rye; Seven Sisters; Chatham; Hither Green; Walton-on-Thames; Battersea Park; Streatham; Petts Wood; Blackhorse Road; St Mary Cray; Goldalming; Whitton; Virginia Water; Theale; Barnes.

East of England
Luton, Grays, Southend East, Manningtree

Midlands
Lichfield Trent Valley, Market Harborough, Warwick, Alfreton, Kidsgrove

North West
Liverpool Central, Penrith, Leyland

Scotland
Hamilton Central, Blairhill, Elgin

South West
Cheltenham Spa and Weston-Super-Mare

Wales
Trefforest, Cathays, Barry Town, Llanelli

Yorkshire and the Humber
Hebden Bridge, Garforth, Northallerton