A WHEELCHAIR user left humiliated after being stranded at Barnt Green station back in 2019 has said the ‘awful’ experience still haunts him to this day.
Dylan Cummings has spoken out amid news that lifts will be brought into service soon to make Barnt Green station more accessible for everyone.
This comes almost seven years after Dylan told the Standard he had to sit down to shuffle up and down stairs to cross the footbridge at the station to get to his intended platform, missing two trains in the ordeal.
He said: “At the time of the incident, I felt completely humiliated; thankfully, I had my friends there to help me and carry my wheelchair. It was an awful experience, one that still haunts me to this day.
“I’m pleased the lifts have finally been installed, giving disabled people the access they require to go about their day.
“However, the length of time this has taken is utterly unacceptable.
“The timeline further showcases that the access issue was not a top priority for the people in charge.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said at the time that for lifts to be installed, a wider package of improvements would be needed, and funding would need to be secured for the additional work.
The approval and the funding for the lifts were agreed by the Department for Transport in June 2023, but complications with the design had delayed the scheme.
Barnt Green Parish Council had been campaigning for lifts since 2015.
Back in February, Network Rail began work on installing three lifts to link all four platforms at the station, and a spokesperson for the firm has now revealed to the Standard that the works are going well and they are in the final stages of checks with West Midlands Railway to bring them into service soon.
The spokesperson added: “We thank passengers and the local community for their continued support as we make the station more accessible for everyone. For the latest travel updates, please visit www.nationalrail.co.uk.”
The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act made it a legal obligation to make all forms of public transport accessible to all.
