New fund to improve rail accessibility announced

Today (8 July) the government has announced a new fund of £20 million to improve the accessibility of train stations and rail networks throughout the UK.

The new fund will invite the rail industry to nominate stations that would benefit from upgrades to improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

Selected stations would then be eligible for small-scale upgrades such as tactile paving, handrails and Harrington Humps, which increase the heights of platforms.

The announcement comes on the one year anniversary of the publication of the Inclusive Transport Strategy.

PROGRESS

In April, the government had announced that 73 stations will benefit from accessible routes to and between every station platform as part of the Access for All fund.

Previous projects have also seen Harrington Humps installed at 77 stations and accessible toilets installed at 18.

There is still a long way to go before the transport industry becomes fully accessible for everyone’s needs, however the funding is a great step in the right direction for inclusion and accessibility for all passengers.

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