Rail Bosses Apologise Over Station Lift Failure

Bosses at Network Rail have apologised over its shortcomings when disabled passengers were denied lift facilities during refurbishment work at Manchester Victoria Station in 2019.

Those affected included wheelchair user Julian Sorfleet, who told the Manchester Evening News he had to drag himself up the steps to reach the platform due to the lack of any adequate wheelchair platform lifts.

He had already waited 20 minutes for a motorised stair walker to arrive and the device was unable to lift the combined weight of Mr Sorfleet and his wheelchair, forcing the passenger to make the arduous half-hour crawl up the stairs.

He remarked: "It beggars belief how disabled people are meant to manage as I can't be the only person that this has happened to or will happen to again."

Mr Sorfleet and other disabled passengers were affected when work was taking place to replace the three lifts at the station.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) criticised Network Rail for failing to make an impact assessment of its work on disabled passengers or to consult with them.

Network Rail’s north west route has now entered into a legally-binding agreement to avoid discrimination against disabled passengers and route director Phil James has acknowledged that carrying out work in a way that left all three station lifts out of action at the same time was a major mistake.

“This was the wrong thing to do and we are deeply sorry for the distress and inconvenience this caused mobility-assisted passengers,” he said.

However, there may be some future benefits for users of wheelchair lifts and other disabled access facilities in stations across the north west region, as Network Rail has promised to consult with disabled passengers over ways to improve access to facilities and platforms.

The disability access failings at Victoria Station may have been all the more galling for the fact that the station has seen major improvements as a whole in recent years, including an entirely new roof.

It has also been working to improve drainage around the station to reduce the risk of flooding.