Council heads bid to improve train station disabled access at Stroud

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From Stroud News and Journal:

A request to improve disabled access at Stroud railway station is to be made by Gloucestershire County Council.

The authority has said it will raise the issue as part of a consultation to select a new management firm for the station, which is currently maintained by First Great Western on behalf of owners Network Rail.

Concerns were first raised by Stroud town councillors about a lack of facilities to assist disabled passengers between platforms.

A wooden bridge on site has no lift or ramps and a passenger with limited mobility wishing to cross the tracks would be forced to exit the station to access the adjacent platform via Rowcroft.

The consultation runs until the end of March, during which GCC will also flag up similar poor access facilities at Gloucester station.

[ChrisB]

'Access for All' funds and joint-funding with the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) usually works wonders.

And GCC know it.

So, why all this fuss?

"Consultation to select new Management" - do they really mean re-franchising? :-)
Because FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have a contract to run the station until theirs runs out, so however much "consulting" GCC do beforehand, nothing is changing.

Really crap journalism.

[ellendune]

Since there is an option by exiting the station could I suggest that there are other stations without any disabled access that should have priority when it comes to allocation of funding. 

[ChrisB]

Which would be why Access for All funds haven't yet been allocated to Stroud....

[Lee]

There's more at http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/story-14454962-detail/story.html :

Better disabled access is needed at Stroud Railway Stations, says Green county councillor Sarah Lunnon.

The Stroud East ward member says groups should call for better access now the Government's consultation on the new franchise for the rail provider for the South West is under way.

"I have asked the county council to ask what is going to be done to improve access," she said.

"Kemble, Gloucester and Stroud all have access issues."

Rail passengers, local councils and other interested groups have until March 31 to say what improvements they want to see delivered by the new Great Western rail franchise, which is to be renewed in 2013.

[paul7575]

This is still barking up the wrong tree IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).

If and when the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) are given 'full repairing leases' on their stations that still might not give them the ability or authority to make major modifications, such as adding lifts and footbridges where they don't already exist. 

This seems to be what the Access for All process is for, as mentioned earlier...

Paul

[w1bbl3]

I do agree the council / councilors are barking up the wrong tree.

It is also nice to note that local green councilor doesn't know which stations serve the golden valley line having omitted Stonehouse (also not accessible).

Railtrack made Cam and Dursley accessible on opening by installing a very long access ramp onto the foot bridge rather than building a lift. This wouldn't be possible at Stroud or Kemble as both stations and footbridges are grade II listed. Actually I'm not sure English hertatage would allow a typical platform lift to be installed as it would change the character of the existing listed footbridge, so improving accessiblity would likely require a new and somewhat expensive accessible footbridge and the existing being either left insitu or relocated to the hertitage railway. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for your very useful observations, w1bbl3 - and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!