Disabled people concerned by plan to take Maidenhead station lift out of action

Disability advocates have warned of the stress likely to be caused by a plan to take one of the lifts at Maidenhead station out of action for nearly a year.

From November 6 to the end of summer/start of autumn 2024, ‘major improvement work’ is happening to platforms 2 and 3 – and the lift will be out of service.

This will impact customers who need step-free access travelling from London to Maidenhead, or travelling west from the town towards Reading.

如果来自伦敦,他们必须得到off at Reading and come back.

If going west, passengers will have to travel to Slough or Taplow and come back from there.

By going back on themselves, passengers would be coming into a platform with a working lift at Maidenhead station.

那些不能做这个建议的说话a member of staff on the day’ or call Great Western Railway (GWR) Passenger Assist, which provides pre-bookable journey assistance for disabled people.

But disabled passengers are unhappy with the level of mitigation and warning provided about the plans.

Lisa Hughes is vice chair of the Royal Borough’s Disability & Inclusion Forum and also sits on the monthly GWR Accessibility Panel.

Made up of about 10 members with a wide range of disabilities, its discussions are usually ‘taken very seriously’.

However, Lisa said that disabled people feel like ‘an afterthought’ this time.

She noted that a daily commuter in need of the lifts could find their journey impacted more than 400 times during the works timeframe.

Journeys could be extended by 40 minutes or up to an hour, she said, what with the extra travelling between platforms, stations and waiting for connections.

There is also the added uncertainty about the other lift, which is ‘the most unreliable on the GWR network,’ said Lisa, who has made enquiries about this to the company.

It falls out of service the most often and takes the longest time to repair on average.

Lisa added there is ‘a big risk’ of this disruption happening all over again when this lift also has to be replaced.

Moreover, there are not many other travel options outside of the roundabout train route back to Maidenhead station.

“We know that buses in Maidenhead are sometimes rarer than hen’s teeth – you’re looking at community transport or taxis,” said Lisa.

These can be fraught with difficulties; vehicles may be unable to cope with anything except a small wheelchair.

Using alternative or additional transport also generates further uncertainty over journey times.

Among other engagements, this threatens to make people late for important medical appointments – which is very stressful, said Lisa.

“Then there’s the additional energy usage – you could be in a lot of pain,” said Lisa.

“Extending your journey will add to that. For people with stamina issues, your fatigue levels just skyrocket.”

She has appealed to Royal Borough councillors for the council’s ‘in seeking better mitigations for disabled passengers using Maidenhead station.’

Maidonian Dean Yorke, who travels to London regularly, agrees that the lift issue will make like difficult.

“Sometimes I come back quite late at night, you’re tired and want to get home – the extra journey time is very stressful,” he said.

“I just feel like disabled people aren’t even considered and get overlooked a lot at the moment.

“Some disabled people have anxiety travelling by train anyway. Things like this will put some people off travelling at all.”

Lisa is also concerned about the communication surrounding this work – the announcement has only been up for a matter of days.

“It is very disappointing that the proposed mitigation was developed without the input of the GWR Accessibility Panel or others with disabilities,” Lisa said.

“It is also frustrating that notification of the works and mitigation have been provided so late.”

Lisa has further concerns over the use of Passenger Assist, which at the time of writing was not giving notice of the planned works at Maidenhead.

“It is unclear how – or if – staff at Passenger Assistance can proactively notify passengers about the works at Maidenhead station and the proposed mitigations,” said Lisa.

A spokesperson for GWR said: “We are pleased that this work to improve accessibility at the station is due to start shortly.

“We have been working hard to ensure that all of our customers are aware of the improvements taking place including posters at the station; announcement on board our trains and briefing our colleagues.

“The Passenger Assistance app will be updated as the work starts, and we will be directly contacting all customers who have already booked assistance.

“Our accessibility manager would welcome the opportunity to meet with the Disability Action Forum and talk them through our plans.”