Disabled travellers' boost as £2m station lifts scheme is completed (From Basildon Recorder)

Disabled travellers' boost as £2m station lifts scheme is completed

7:10am Tuesday 7th August 2012 in News

DISABLED passengers, mums with pushchairs and elderly travellers who struggle to walk now have better access to Laindon Station.

Two lifts have been installed to provide step-free access to the London-bound platform for the first time.

The £2million scheme, including a new footbridge off Station Approach, has been funded through the Goverment’s Access to All programme, which aims to make the railway more user friendly for mobility-impaired passengers.

Disabled groups have long campaigned for lifts at the station, which had been off limits to people in wheelchairs and parents with pushchairs wishing to use the London-bound track.

Billericay and Basildon MP John Baron , who helped to get the lifts, said: “They will make a real and positive difference.”

Mum of two Louise Shaw, 37, of Kings Road, Laindon said: “I always stayed clear of Laindon and used Basildon station if I was travelling alone because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my pushchair up the footbridge. These lifts have been a long time coming, but it’s great news.”

Julian Drury, managing director of c2c, which operates the Southend to London line, said: “The lifts are the latest in a series of upgrades to our stations and I know they will prove a popular addition with customers.”