Lifts finally open at busy Berkshire commuter station
Wheelchair and pushchair users have waited more than ten years
Relief has been expressed over the completion of disabled lifts at a train station in a commuter village near Reading after years of waiting.
Theale train station is on the Great Western Railway line and is convenient for commuters between the village, Reading and beyond.
But for years platforms at the station have been inaccessible to wheelchair users and pushchair users as its footbridge had steps.
Plans for lifts to the other platforms first emerged more than a decade ago in 2013 but issues in securing funding meant the project was delayed.
Work begun 10 years after the upgrade plans in 2023, but delays hit the construction as well, missing hoped-for completion in Spring last year.
It has been reported that £9.5 million has been spent on the project.
Not good enough
Olivia Bailey, the Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire said:
“I am pleased that this work has finally been completed, and I pay tribute to local people for their perseverance in making this happen, especially the Theale Station Users Group.
“It is simply not good enough that this project has taken so long.
“It has been more than a decade since local people were promised vital improvements to make the station fully accessible.
“We cannot have crucial improvements like this bogged down in bureaucracy and that’s why I’m pleased that this government is not only investing in infrastructure and our transport system, but also cutting red tape so that infrastructure projects get built more quickly.
“I’ll continue to work hard to ensure that vital local projects like this are driven forward at pace, and that lessons are learned from this sorry saga.”
The lifts were opened to users on Thursday, January 16.
The project was undertaken by Network Rail as part of the Department for Transport’s ‘Access for All’ scheme.
Network Rail clarified that testing had to be undertaken on the lifts before they could be opened.
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