“Small but important” station improvements make rail travel easier for disabled passengers

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have completed a £600,000 improvement package over the past year to make the Thameslink, Great Northern and Southern rail networks easier for disabled passengers to use. Enhancements range from a smart new accessible toilet and wheelchair-user-friendly customer information points to testing devices for induction loop systems.

The star of the programme is the new accessible toilet at Letchworth Garden City. The train company has converted a dilapidated Gents’, that was being used as a store, into a spacious, stylish accessible toilet that also offers baby-changing facilities.

Stairways and ramps at Winchmore Hill, West Hampstead and New Barnet in North London have been given visibility and safety improvements with new bright yellow handrails and step edgings.

New customer information points at Three Bridges in West Sussex and Caterham, Surrey, have wide, automated doors and low desks for wheelchair users.

A new waiting shelter at East Dulwich in South London is also designed to ensure enough cover and turning space for people using wheelchairs.

Staff at 70 stations now have new devices for regular testing of the induction loops that reduce background noise for people using hearing aids. Induction loops are installed not only at ticket office windows but in waiting areas, on platforms and at information points.

Part of GTR’s investment went into progressing designs for potential future schemes, including an accessible toilet at Finsbury Park and ramps to the main station entrances at Angmering and Reigate.

Carl Martin, GTR’s Accessibility Lead, said: “We’re delivering on our pledge to make travelling easier for our disabled customers, and others who need help with accessibility. These small but important improvements remove some of the barriers for disabled people. Something as simple as making the edges of steps bright yellow for people with a sight impairment, or putting in a handrail at the right height for a passenger navigating stairs and ramps, can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

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Notes to editors

The £600,000 improvement package was part of GTR’s 2021/22 Minor Works station improvement programme. Larger accessibility schemes such as lifts are normally funded by the Department for Transport’s Access for All scheme.

For more information about Carl Martin and GTR’s accessibility initiatives, see our press release.