Demand A-list Access – Don’t Accept Second Best
Rock Ferry Labour Party have been approached by a resident complaining about the lack of suitable disabled access at Rock Ferry train station. When they started to investigate it was immediately obvious that access to rail travel across Wirral is far from equal for all and not just those with mobility issues.
Merseyrail give each of their stations an accessibility rating of A, B or C. An A-rated station has step-free access to all platforms, while a C-rated station has no step-free access to any platform. Rock Ferry has a B rating, which is defined as “a degree of step=free access, which may be in both directions or in one direction only.” See here.
The reality of this B-list status is that access to rail travel for those with restricted mobility is only possible in one direction of any journey at best and that further assistance is required simply to get on or off the train. Rock Ferry Labour Party intend to work with the local community to challenge Merseyrail to comply with their own Accessible Travel Policy which states that “you have the right to safe, comfortable, punctual and seamless journeys.” You can view the Accessible Travel Policy here.
At Rock Ferry Labour they have a specific issue which they’ve been asked to follow up, but it is clear this is an issue across the whole network. Only 10 of Wirral’s 24 stations are in the A category for accessibility. 8 are in the B category which, as seen, makes independent travel for all difficult if not impossible, while 6 have no step-free access at all. Therefore, they will be contacting support groups and Labour Party branches across Wirral to join our campaign. They are also seeking support from individuals and groups with issues other than restricted mobility who also suffer due to difficulties accessing the rail network, such as hearing or visual impairments and other non-visible disabilities.
The Labour Party can’t use familiar campaigning tools such as knocking on doors and paper petitions because of the lockdown. Their plan is to use online means to highlight this inequality and to challenge Merseyrail and Liverpool City Region to ensure equal access for all.
They would like as many people as possible to contact them with their personal experiences of travel on our local rail network, suggestions or comments of any kind will be very helpful to us. Contact them directly by any of the methods below or through your own organisation.
Contact Rock Ferry Labor Party:
Email:
Rock Ferry BLP on Facebook
Text or call Clare on 07507 562622; Graham on 07916 284414 or Neil on 07960 054700
