Ramp at Keynsham station

[madhattie]

From the Bristol Evening Post

Residents and councillors in Keynsham are celebrating the success of a six-year campaign to have a ramp installed at the town's rail station for wheelchair users.

The long-awaited ramp has finally been given the go-ahead after a bid for funding was approved by the Department for Transport.

After facing criticism for turning down an initial bid by First Great Western for the improvements last year, the DfT has now agreed to stump up the ú100,000 needed following a resubmission of the bid.

Keynsham councillors Charles Gerrish and Brian Simmons have campaigned for the ramp since 2004, highlighting the fact that it is nearly impossible for travellers with mobility difficulties to access the station's west-bound platform.

They have already secured a ú50,000 commitment from Bath and North East Somerset Council towards the scheme and a further ú50,000 from First. With the money now available from the DfT, campaigners have reached the ú200,000 needed for the ramp to be installed.

Mr Gerrish said: "We are absolutely delighted that after so many years hard work and campaigning with local residents, we now have all the funding needed for this ramp to be installed.

"The delays have been frustrating, particularly because the money earmarked by the council and First has been sitting there waiting to be used for several years now. But it will all be worth it once these improvements are completed."

Mr Simmons added: "At the moment, it's almost impossible for disabled passengers to get on to the west-bound platform and it's extremely difficult for anyone with a pushchair or pram since there are so many steps.

"This ramp is therefore vital to making train travel easier for Keynsham residents and accessible for all. Alongside this, we are also pressing the train operators to increase the number of trains which stop at Keynsham."

North East Somerset MP Dan Norris said the original bid was turned down because the council had not consulted its the Disability Equality Forum group, which has since become Bath and North East Somerset People First.

He said: "At the time, the Transport Secretary confirmed this made the bid much weaker than others, because it lacked relevance to disabled people. As a result Keynsham lost out to other councils' superior bids. But the Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis assured me û after I had specifically asked him û that he would look closely at any revised Keynsham bid.

"After all, it would not be fair for the incompetence of this poor quality local authority to lead to Keynsham people losing out.

"News that the Government has provided this money for Keynsham is hugely welcome."

[Blackthorn]

ú200,000 for a RAMP! What are they making it out of?!! And why does it take so long to make the platform accessible for disabled passengers?

[James]

Isn't there already a ramp? I thought one used to run from the top of the footbridge steps area, along the top of the retaining wall, and down to the Bath end of the platform. It's very overgrown, but surely clearing it would be cheaper than building a new ramp?

You can just see where it joins the platform in this image:

http://bristol-rail.co.uk/w/images/thum ... nsham7.jpg