Local Councillor Pledges To Work For Disabled Access On Tubes

Following plight of Chiswick woman who was stranded on train

Southfield Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Steed has described the situation where a disabled Chiswick resident was unable to exit a tube due to lack of assistance, as "dreadful" and he pledged to campaign on the issue of transport access in the area.

Cllr Steed said that there was an announcement about funding for accessibility last December from the Mayor's office. On that basis he asked about both Turnham Green and Chiswick Park stations. After a long delay he received an answer last week;

"In December 2016 TfL and City Hall announced a £200m programme that will see step free access installed in around 30 Tube stations by March 2022.

"Turnham Green and Chiswick Park are not currently being considered under TfL’s Step Free Access Programme. This is because they did not meet the criteria we use in order to assess which stations are the best fit for the programme. These criteria include cost or availability of third party funding, simple construction and strategic importance (for example it must serve a town centre, interchange with other transport providers or be in a location where there are currently limited accessible transport options).

"It is possible that Turnham Green and Chiswick Park may be considered for the programme at a later date if circumstances change – for example if funding became available from a third party such as a local land developer or the local authority."

The problems with step free access were highlighted last week when it was revealed that Chiswick resident Lucy Webster was stranded on the Tube at Hammersmith because she could not get off the train.

Lucy, (22) who was travelling from Brixton to her home in Chiswick was the victim of a series of blunders, which left her having to stay on the tube until it reached Acton station where passengers eventually pulled the emergency alarm in order for her to leave the train last week.

The case led to a discussion on our forum about the matter.

May 19, 2017