New lifts for Formby Station
A £1.6million scheme to provide 2 new
passenger lifts at Formby station is now under way.
Due for completion in late summer, the lifts will give step free access from the
booking hall to the platforms, offering modern passenger improvements to the
historic station building.
The scheme has been jointly funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) Access
for All programmes and by Merseytravel and will be the 9th Station in Merseyside
to benefit from DfT funding.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel said:- "These improvements can
make a real difference to disabled passengers, those with limited mobility and
people with children and pushchairs, and go a long way to helping us provide an
accessible network for everyone. The 'Access for All programme' was
launched to address issues faced by disabled passengers using railway stations
across the country and we are pleased to have been successful in securing this
funding to continue progress on the Merseyrail network."
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said:- "Making our rail network more
accessible is central to our plans to build a stronger economy and a fairer
society. The work at Formby will transform journeys for passengers, and I am
pleased it is now underway. We are investing record amounts in building a
world class railway, and by the end of 2019, we will have spent more than
£550million improving accessibility at more than 200 stations around the UK."
Alan Chaplin, interim managing director of Merseyrail, concluded:- "We are
committed to making the customer experience easier, more convenient and more
pleasant, and this goes for all our customers. Throughout the network, we
already have in place robust procedures for passengers with disabilities, but
these new lifts at Formby will be a real boon for those who use this station."
