A RAILWAY station that opened just under 40 years ago has now been made fully accessible to people with disabilities for the first time.
People with physical disabilities, parents with prams or even passengers with heavy luggage have had to take a 550-metre detour to cross between the two platforms at Cwmbran railway station since it opened in 1986.
A new footbridge has now been built, with lift chutes at either side, to create what is described as the first “step free access” at the station used by some 385,000 people a year.
Cwmbran resident Amanda Say, who uses a wheelchair said having to leave the station and facilities on the north bound platform to follow a ramped path along Edlogan Way, could take about 15 minutes in her electric wheelchair.
“I’ve done it in a manual wheelchair as well and I thought my arms would drop off,” said Ms Say of the route which involved climbing a steep bank along Edlogan Way and head back along the parallel footpath to reach the Newport bound platform.
Network Rail describes the route as “hazardous” and “uneven” and it has been planning the station improvements since 2019 with the new bridge repositioned further north while the old bridge has been removed.
Ms Say, who is a member of the Transport for Wales Accessibility and Inclusion panel, officially opened the lift and bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by officials from Network Rail, that is responsible for tracks and stations, Transport for Wales, Torfaen Borough Council and local MP Nick Thomas-Symonds.
She said cutting out the need to take a detour to get from one side of the station to the other is a massive improvement in accessibility.
“You no longer have to do a huge detour which for me took a large chunk of my wheelchair’s battery life.
“You can go somewhere for a day and you can go further as you do not have to worry about having to save battery power for that detour. It also makes Cwmbran more accessible for visitors.”
Alan Thomas, of Caerphilly, who is also a member of the panel, is visually impaired and said improvements, including new tactile paving on the platforms, will help reassure people they can travel independently.
“We try to build people’s confidence up to get out of the house and move around,” said Mr Thomas who regularly visits Cwmbran for shopping and appointments at the Grange Hospital.
He said he has also identified small improvements between the station and the bus station, at the shopping centre, that could make the town more accessible
Torfaen MP, and UK Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds welcomed the enhancements He said: “That step free access to, what I still call, the other side, is a huge improvement and I also think, more broadly, the investment in the station and in Cwmbran is important too.”
The Labour member added he has called “throughout his time as an MP” for accessibility improvements and said improvements at Cwmbran would make an “enormous difference” at the “very well used station.”
A new accessible footbridge is also being installed further north along the Marches line at Abergavenny.
Peter Fox, Senedd Member for Monmouthshire, was given a tour of the station and work site, by Network Rail and contractor, Centregreat. Work is nearing completion, and is set to be finished in April, before the bridge is opened in May.
Abergavenny is a grade II listed station and the bridge is located on the north side of the station house, which is the opposite end to the existing listed footbridge.
Mr Fox said: “This new bridge, which is a unique structure in the UK, will go a long way in improving accessibility for all passengers in using the station. Passengers will now have step-free access between the two platforms for the first time.”
Most facilities, including the ticket office, toilets and a café, are in the station house on platform one but the only access to platform two for those in wheelchairs, or anyone else who cannot climb steps, is a ‘barrow crossing’ – a designated point where staff and assisted members of the public can cross the tracks.
The name dates back to the period before lifts or even footbridges were commonplace and railway staff would push barrows full of luggage or mail between platforms.