Maidenhead station lifts 'out-of-action' more than any other on GWR network, hears disability forum

Concerns about lift access at Maidenhead station were raised at the RBWM disability and inclusion forum last week.

Vice chair of the forum, Lisa Hughes, who is also a member of Great Western Railway’s accessibility panel, said they regularly discuss problems with lifts across the network, including problems she’s personally encountered at Maidenhead station.

She said the lifts at Maidenhead station were out-of-action more frequently than any other station on the Great Western Railway network.

She provided operational data from Network Rail, which is responsible for rail infrastructure at stations, that said the lifts were inaccessible around 10 per cent of the time or approximately 17 hours per week.

Lisa said: “It is terrible and what makes it even worse is the patchy communication to all station staff and to the passenger assist app.” When lifts are out-of-order, Great Western Railway arranges a taxi to transport individuals to the nearest accessible station on its route but she said ‘although helpful, it means additional time and stress is added to a disabled person’s journey’.

The vice chair said she believed Network Rail has agreed to funding for the lift replacement but the time-frame was ‘medium-term’ or two to three years, and not ‘imminent’.

She said: “I would like to lobby Network Rail to bring that funding forward especially since the Elizabeth line has made many more stations directly accessible from Maidenhead.”

She added that lift maintenance and inspection was carried out by a third-party which raised the potential for ‘fragmentations of the links in the chain’ to cause issues.

A GWR spokesperson said: “We want our stations and services to be accessible to as many people as possible, and for our lifts to be operational and working well.

“We are in regular dialogue with Network Rail and will work with them to pursue solutions which improve the lifts at Maidenhead.”

Members of the forum also raised residents’ concerns about the impact of unreliable lifts on their work and social lives, and being stranded due to lifts being remotely controlled.

Councillor Helen Price (TBFI, Clewer & Dedworth East) offered her support and said: “In Windsor, we have lifts that close down early or don’t work... because they’re getting old and they’re not being maintained as they should be. It’s worrying if somebody could be stuck somewhere without any support.”

Councillor Jack Douglas (Lib Dem, St Mary’s) also offered his support.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We strive to ensure that stations on the rail network are accessible for everyone by including step free access where possible under the Government’s Access for All scheme.

“Data from across the route shows that passenger lifts are exceeding the national target of 99 per cent availability, however we do understand that outages occur and when they do, they are inconvenient and frustrating for everyone.

“Alongside our industry stakeholders and subject to funding being available, we are working towards the scheduled planned refurbishment of the lifts at Maidenhead station during our next funding cycle (2024 onwards).”