Liz Lynne revisits "inaccessible" Evesham Station
August 1, 2003 6:59 PM
Liz visited Evesham Station in 2002, shortly after the level crossing had been closed.
West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne will be revisiting Evesham Station on Monday (4 August) to renew calls for Thames Trains to make the adaptations necessary to ensure the station is fully accessible to disabled people.
Last year, Liz visited the station with local people to protest over Thames Trains decision to shut down the level crossing that disabled people depended on to access the platform for trains headed to Oxford and London, without offering a replacement. The station managers have since taken positive steps to improve access of the parking area, and are conducting a feasibility study into further improvements, but progress has remained frustratingly slow.
Commenting, Liz said:
"The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gave train companies until October 2004 to ensure that all their stations were accessible to disabled people. Now, with that deadline looming, it would appear that they have squandered the past 8 years and are only just waking up to the fact that this deadline must be met.
"In the case of Evesham Station, the situation is even worse: the train operating company has actually withdrawn access and failed to offer wheelchair users a viable alternative.
"And we can expect no help from the Strategic Rail Authority - they are stating they would prefer to risk legal action than make improvements to accessibility owing to a financial crisis. The SRA were created to put greater strategic thinking at the heart of rail management, yet they clearly failed to include the cost of access modifications into their plans.
"If the train operating companies and the Strategic Rail Authority are not prepared to take this issue seriously, it is time for the Rail Regulator to step in. I believe the rail industry is underestimating the resolve of disabled people who have waited for years for the new discrimination legislation to take effect. If they don't want to find themselves in legal hot water come October 2004, they had best start taking immediate action."
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