'Time for Government to get on board with Whitchurch railway station access plan' - MP

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has been pushing for improvements at Whitchurch Railway Station where platform 1 (to Shrewsbury) can only be reached via a footbridge with 44 steps.

This means that disabled residents and those with poor mobility cannot head southbound or exit the station from trains heading north into Whitchurch.

In an update today the Department for Transport said it is still currently reviewing more than 300 project applications with plans to pay for 100 of them.

Mrs Morgan was told last year that a Government decision on the scheme would be made in 2023. However, she says the Department for Transport is still refusing to say when an announcement will be made.

The MP has previously asked questions in the Commons about the access and petitioned station users on the platform on improvements.

Network Rail has designated the scheme as ‘high priority’ meaning that all that remains is for the Government to approve funding under the Access for All Scheme.

Mrs Morgan asked a Parliamentary question on the issue, to which rail minister Huw Merriman replied that an announcement will be made ‘in due course’.

In a letter to the minister, Mrs Morgan says that Whitchurch residents ‘are demanding answers’. She has urged the department to get a move on with making access free and fair for all residents using either platform.

She said: “It is wrong that so many passengers are excluded from using Whitchurch Station and it is wrong that the Government is taking so long to make a decision. This scheme must be a top priority.

“Ministers need to stop stalling and urgently approve the proposals.

“I have written to the Rail Minister and told him that Whitchurch residents are demanding answers. Public transport in the area is already very poor and the town has had a particularly tough time of it recently with the shutting of the Civic Centre.

"Investment in the station would provide some much-needed good news and should be a simple decision for the Minister.

“The designs are done, Network Rail says it is a high priority, and the Access for All scheme has a very clear remit – the only people who aren’t on board seem to be the Government.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said they have committed £350 million to improve accessibility at 100 more railway stations. They are considering more than 300 new project nominations.

“We have already funded step-free access at over 230 stations through our Access for All programme and, thanks to reallocated HS2 funding, we have committed a further £350 million to improve accessibility at up to 100 more.

"We are currently reviewing project applications and will provide further information in due course.”

Under the programme stations will be able to benefit from refitted lifts, tactile surfaces, ramps and footbridges, new ticket gates and accessible waiting rooms and toilets.