11/01/2025
Stock photo of Maidenhead Train Station.
Great Western Railways has apologised to a mother after Maidenhead Train Station staff refused her help while a problem lift was again out of action.
Great Western Railway has apologised to a mother after Maidenhead station staff refused her help while a problem lift was again out of action.
Cox Green resident Amy Delahoussaye was ‘left to struggle’ with a pram – occupied by a sleeping child - down the stairs at platforms 2 and 3 while staff ‘watched’, late last month.
The lift was long a source of ire for train users who needed step-free platform access while it was closed during 12 months of station upgrades.
When it reopened in September last year, it closed again that month due to rainfall.
Amy’s husband Matt, 43, said: “I know things like this happen, but this lift has been an ongoing problem at the station and the way she was dealt with by the staff was pretty horrific.”
Amy Delahoussaye and her child at Maidenhead Train Station.
Amy, 42, and her two young children - a girl aged 14 months and a boy aged four - returned to Maidenhead station after a trip to Windsor, at around 11.30am on December 20.
When the family arrived back at the station, they found the lift to its ground floor was out of order and Amy asked staff on the platform for help getting downstairs with the pram.
Matt said staff had told her they would not help unless she took her little girl out of the pram.
“She’s 14 weeks old and she’s asleep [in the pram],” Matthew said. “Taking her out is probably going to ruin the whole afternoon and Amy was reluctant to do that.”
He added: “Amy explained that, if it’s a problem with protocol or safety, ‘I give you permission to help me, I take responsibility’ and still the staff still said no.”
After being refused help, Matt said staff then watched her negotiate the stairs down.
“It wasn’t a case of they said that and then got on with their duties - they basically just stood there and watched her struggle," Matt said.
He added the experience – and concerns the lift would be unreliable - had put his family off using trains from Maidenhead station in the future.
Screenshot from X (formerly known as Twitter).
Reports on social media suggested the lift was out of action again over the weekend (January 5).
A spokesperson for GWR said: "We're happy to help all of our customers.
“In such circumstances we usually ask those travelling with small children to take them out of the pushchair first for their safety.
"We do however recognise that we could have done more to help, and we are really sorry Amy did not receive the treatment expected."
A comment issued by Network Rail, and previously given to the Advertiser in September when the lift was out of action due to ‘water pooling’, said:
"We’re sorry for the inconvenience this causes – it’s not good enough and we know our passengers expect and deserve better.
The company said it was meeting with partners including GWR to ‘discuss the next steps to ensure we have a robust plan for resolving this issue’.
The company was approached for further comment.