Network rail rep admits consultation over work to lift at Maidenhead Railway Station came 'late on'

A representative from Network Rail has admitted consultation on works which left no disabled access to two platforms at Maidenhead Railway Station for months came ‘late on’.

The admission came at a Maidenhead Town Forum meeting on Tuesday evening after Cllr Catherine Del Campo (Lib Dem, Furze Platt), said residents needing step-free access were ‘upset’ by the alternative arrangements put in place.

In August last year, Network Rail initiated its programme of safety improvement works, which included relocation and renewal of the lift for platforms 2 and 3.

The original lift closed for use in November and, ever since, passengers needing step-free access have had to travel to Reading and get the train back to Maidenhead to use the working lift on platforms 4 and 5, or get off at another station and take a taxi.

After months of closure, the lift has been relocated and is now in use.

During a presentation at the town forum meeting, Alan Gough of Network Rail acknowledged that it has been ‘difficult for some passengers’ and thanked those who have been impacted by the removal of step-free access.

Cllr Del Campo, said: “On the mitigations for people with disabilities, I have had some feedback about this from residents who didn’t feel that being asked to travel from Reading and then back to Maidenhead was a fair request.

“People were upset about that, and I think I would be as well. And it has been a very long time.

“Is there any learning so that, if you were to do something like this again, people would be less disrupted by it?”

Earlier in the meeting, Mr Gough said that, prior to the lift relocation, discussions were held with Great Western Railway (GWR) and rail operator MTR to obtain their advice on mitigations that could be put in place.

Mr Gough said he also attended the GWR Accessibility Panel to seek advice, prior to the lift going out of service.

Responding to Cllr Del Campo, Mr Gough said: “Consultation came late on, I must admit that.

“It came quite late on our side so there’s a learning point for us there.

“I think we went to the accessibility panel possibly a month or six weeks prior to the disruption happening so we should really have gone earlier.”

Cllr George Shaw (Lib Dem, Boyn Hill) asked whether residents can expect the lift on platforms 4 and 5 to be out of action for the same period of time when it is replaced.

Mr Gough said a lift replacement does not take ‘10 or 11 months’ and that work to the lift on platform only took the amount of time it did, because it was relocated.

The lift on platforms 4 and 5 is due for renewal in the next five years, he explained, with this type of work taking about ‘six or eight weeks’.

The works at Maidenhead station have been carried out in three phases.

The first phase saw the implementation of mid-platform fencing, which is sometimes known as ‘suicide mitigation fencing’, and four large lockable gates on platform 2 and 3.

Mr Gough said there has been an increase in ‘suicide-related incidents’ at the station, with four suicide incidents in 2022 and 2023.

The second phase saw the relocation and renewal of the lift and an additional staircase installed at platforms 2 and 3, while the third phase involves installing an upgraded station information system.

Phase one and two of works have now been delivered and phase three is due for completion in the coming weeks, Mr Gough added.