Disabled people still don’t have step free access to Hackney Downs station five years after it was promised by the previous Conservative government.
Statistics from Transport for London (TfL) show that only 53% of London Overground stations and 34% of London Underground stations are fully accessible.
Tina Hodgkinson, social worker and disability ambassador for Euan’s Guide, an award-winning disabled access charity, says she feels like Russian roulette when it comes to public transport.
Tina, who became disabled eight years ago, said she was once left alone on a train in Edinburgh.
She said: “It was just awful because basically you’re sitting there on the train and you’re wondering if anyone’s ever going to come.
“And you just think, do I try and get out myself?
“You feel emotionally exhausted, you feel physically exhausted.”
The disabled population is roughly 1 in 5 of the population in the UK, and TfL’s old infrastructure, huge costs would be spent in making these old stations accessible.
The Access for All programme promised to install lifts, funded by the Department for Transport but managed by Network Rail.
Hodgkinson also once experienced her body trapped in the bus doors because the driver hadn’t looked.
She says transport access won’t be recognised for the disability community until something horrible happens to someone, and that due to lack of disability transport access, she will plan a journey and sometimes won’t be able to complete it.
Last year, Tina travelled from King’s Cross to Euston, and TfL staff at Euston said they wouldn’t pick her up as they weren’t going to help her get up on the lift.
Tina added: “But knowing that they did that to me and I felt that was a blatant act of discrimination.
“I ended up crying.
“I’ve asked for passenger assistance and…I’ve been pulled into the station where I’m due to get off. And there’s been no member of staff to meet me.
“And sometimes it’s the last destination.
“But I just sit in the train waiting, hoping someone will come, and eventually the cleaners come and I ask them to get me help.”
Tina said she expects to have the same conversation in five years time.
Road Safety Consultant for TfL, Sarah Hope MBE, said: “Their excuse is that the stations are too old to put the lifts in, but where they don’t have lifts, they should provide something for people who can’t use the Underground.”
Step free access was promised for Hackney Downs Overground station in 2019 by former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May.
Hackney Downs is a London Overground station in north-east London, opening in 1872 for the Great Eastern Railway.
With step free access, the disability community can rely on getting to train station platforms without having to worry about stairs or escalators, improving diversity among travel, ensuring people of all lifestyles can travel without diversity discrimination and transport concerns.
There are alternative services for the disabled community when accessing TfL services, such as the Dial A Ride service which provides a taxi to commuters if there is no access to a ramp for a wheelchair user at a station.
However, users report that staff shortages mean people are often unable to access this service.
Hope said: “The amount of stations that you can’t see anybody working at them.
“People with disabilities or people who might need help, there is often nobody to ask”.
Hope also highlighted the issues for wheelchair users using buses.
She said: “If there’s no room on the bus, and you’re in a wheelchair, you will just get left behind.
Hackney Council declined to comment.
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s Director of Public Service Planning Geoff Hobbs said: “We remain committed to providing step-free access at Hackney Downs London Overground station and are doing everything we can to overcome a number of challenges we’ve faced with the project.
“These include issues surrounding land ownership and the rising costs of the project due to inflationary pressures.
“This project is being funded by the DfT’s Access for All Fund which is managed by Network Rail and we continue to work with both parties to reach an agreement on funding so works can commence as soon as possible.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We recognise the importance of accessibility for all passengers and are fully committed to delivering step-free access at Hackney Downs station.
“We are carefully assessing a range of potential options and their associated costs. This work is being undertaken in close partnership with TfL and Arriva Rail London.”
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s Director of Public Service Planning, said: “We remain committed to providing step-free access at Hackney Downs London Overground station and are doing everything we can to overcome a number of challenges we’ve faced with the project.
“These include issues surrounding land ownership and the rising costs of the project due to inflationary pressures.
“This project is being funded by the DfT’s Access for All Fund which is managed by Network Rail, and we continue to work with both parties to reach an agreement on funding so works can commence as soon as possible.”
Campaign group Transport for All said in a statement: “Everyone needs to travel, but for thousands of disabled Londoners the lack of step-free access at Hackney Downs stops us being able to enjoy our city fully.
“Progress at the station has been unacceptably slow, and the Access for All funding programme has alarming underspends.
“Network Rail is now installing an oversight body to make improvements.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that this is a step in the right direction towards making Network Rail more accountable, but the proof is in the pudding.
“We’ll believe it’s working when everyone can use stations like Hackney Downs.”
Credit: Irid Escent, Flickr. Wikimedia Commons license
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