[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 28th April 2014]
Residents and councillors have poured scorn on the lack of action to make crucial improvements to a Colne Valley train station more than two years since they took their campaign to parliament.
Carer Linda Carter and Liberal Democrat councillors David Ridgway and Nicola Turner said that it was ‘abysmal’ that Marsden Station is still without full disabled access or safer steps despite a petition which started in 2009.
This was following the nasty fall of a woman who suffered a fractured shoulder and muscle injuries while on her way to catch a train.
Both councillors will hope that a meeting with Network Rail and Clr Donna Bellamy today about the electrification of the line will put pressure on the station’s owner, Northern Rail, to make the improvements, which Clr Ridgway believes should include the total rebuilding of the station.
Trains going to Huddersfield and back from Manchester are still out of bounds to those in wheelchairs or with prams while concerns remain high about the ‘dangerous’ steps.
Linda, 55, who is a full time carer to her wheelchair bound husband Kevin, 64, said the lack of access had a significant impact on their lives.
“We had to stop using the train station when my husband got spondylosis,” she said. “The steps are dangerous for anyone and those with prams or wheelchairs can’t use the train if they are travelling to Huddersfield or from Manchester because of them.
“We have to get the bus instead but this still causes problems because of the lack of those with low level access and then the ride is quite bumpy which causes my husband a lot of pain.
“It means we can’t go out of Marsden that often. I just wish they’d get it sorted but we’ve just lost all faith.”
In 2011 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Norman Baker said Marsden was then roughly half way down the list for access upgrading at approximately 1,200 out of 2,500 stations.
Clr Ridgway said:
“The situation is absolutely abysmal and has been for many years. The quality of the station is similar to a countryside halt rather than one that sits in between two big conurbations of Manchester and Leeds. The lack of action is pathetic and I want it to be rebuilt.”
A Northern Rail spokeswoman said:
“At the moment, we have no plans to change access arrangements at Marsden station. This work would require a significant level of investment and third party partnership, not just for Marsden but for other stations along the line. We have carried out a great deal of improvements to access in partnership with Network Rail across our 463 stations throughout our franchise. If one of our stations is inaccessible, we’ll provide alternative transport to the nearest or most convenient station to enable customers to continue on their journey.”