Step-free access improvements have already been made at 13 Southeastern stations in recent years, including Herne Hill, Gravesend and Canterbury West.
In July 2018, the Department for Transport published its Inclusive Transport Strategy, and announced that up to £300 million of Government funding would be made available for step-free access improvements at railway stations between 2019 and 2024.
Southeastern is calling on passengers, stakeholders and mobility groups to nominate their local stations for accessibility improvements that will help disabled passengers, as well as those with heavy luggage or pushchairs.
Southeastern’s accessibility manager, Justin Ryan, said:
“We know our passengers want it to be simple and easy to travel by train, including those with mobility issues, heavy luggage or travelling with young children. Most of the railway was built in the 19th Century, and while Victorian engineers were real pioneers, they didn’t design their stations to be as accessible as our passengers expect today.
“The Government is expected to announce in early 2019 which stations will benefit, and we’re asking our passengers to help us make a really strong case, so that a significant slice of the £300m Access for All fund is spent on installing step-free access at Southeastern stations.”
Nominations can be made online at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/southeasternrailway and need to be submitted by Sunday 30 September 2018.
ENDS
