Caroline Pidgeon has raised concerns in the London Assembly over a lack of level access at Old Oak Common Station.
Old Oak Common Station will be most important transport interchanges in London and the whole of the UK, linking up HS2, Great Western Rail services and the Elizabeth Line. It will serve 250,000 passengers per day and will ultimately connect with eight of the UK's largest cities.
However, new information uncovered by the Liberal Democrats has unveiled that level boarding will not be available on Elizabeth Line services at the new £1.67 billion station, creating a major obstacle for those with disabilities who will have to rely on a trained member of staff being available to operate ramps and when none are available.
In response to Caroline's question, the Mayor agreed to take this up directly with the Department of Transport.
Commenting, Caroline said:
“It beggars belief that this brand new £1.67 billion train station, which connects to the brand-new Elizabeth Line could not have level access throughout.
“Passengers arriving on HS2, who will be travelling inter-city and likely have large amounts of luggage will struggle to board the Elizabeth Line to get into central London or to connect with Heathrow.
“But far more importantly, in the 21st century it really isn’t acceptable that decisions are still being made that hamper the ability of those with disabilities to go about their lives without the fear they might get stuck on a train.
“With around a fifth of disabled people reporting they have difficulties accessing transport, we really need to be doing better than this and ensure our transport network is accessible to everyone.”
You can read more in the Evening Standard.