More Lifts Needed In UK Stations After ‘Least Accessible’ Label

Stations in the UK are in need of more wheelchair platform lifts to make them more inclusive, as they have been found to be the least accessible in Europe. 

The unflattering label was given to British stations by German travel booking company Omio, which compared the accessibility of 16 countries, reported New Civil Engineer.

While 99 per cent of stations in The Netherlands have facilities for disabled people, only 60 per cent of UK ones have accessibility tools. 

“British railway operators and decision-makers still have much work to do to achieve complete accessibility in the railway system,” the company stated. 

This is despite the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Access For All programme, which provides funding to improve accessibility in UK rail stations. 

It was launched in 2006 with a budget of £390 million, with £163 million extra being given to the fund in 2014. Since its launch, over 150 stations have been updated with accessibility features and an additional 68 projects are yet to be completed. 

Mid-scale improvements, including tactile paving and handrails, also began in 2020 across 124 stations, while smaller projects improved 1,500 stations across the UK. These changes included fitting customer information screens and automatic doors. 

A spokesperson from DfT told the publication that there is a further £350 million available to improve accessibility in UK stations now, as a result of the northern legs of the HS2 line being scrapped. 

Britain still has a long way to go to compete with the likes of The Netherlands in terms of accessibility and inclusivity, however, as nearly all of its stations have facilities such as pathways for the visually impaired and digital information screens that are frequently updated for those who cannot hear the announcements.