A very good station for step-free access
4.5
4.5
Date of visit: September 2022
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: disabled toilet
Overall Rating
Excellent
I found this station very easy to use, almost everything well designed and well thought-through, and excellent friendly help staff too.
Disabled Access In and Around
Excellent
There are two station buildings, on either side of the tracks, separated by a road bridge. There are also lifts within the station for moving between platforms. All wheelchair access within the station is easy. I had very comfortable arrival and departure from the station. See my photos of the two station buildings below.
Accessible Toilets
Good
There is a very good accessible toilet on the northbound platform, but it has two flaws which really need to be fixed: (i) The door has no grabrail on the inside. It proved impossible, once I was inside the cubicle, to close the door, because I was unable to reach the small door handle at the same time as keeping my wheelchair clear of the closing door. In the end I gave up and waited for a stray member of the public to walk past outside and I asked her to close the door for me. A horizontal grabrail running across the width of the door at a height slightly lower than the door handle is essential here, to enable a wheelchair user to pull the door closed independently, with privacy and dignity. (ii) The hand-dryer machine is much too high for a wheelchair user. It needs to be lowered to a position where a seated person, i.e. a wheelchair user, can reach it. See my photos of the toilet below.
Staff
Excellent
All the staff I interacted with were friendly, helpful, cheerful and very professional. Special mention must be made of Matthew, who gave me assistance for my return train to London, he has exceptional customer service skills and made things very easy for me.
