Keith Roads. |
Protestors picketed
Thetford Railway Station on Friday, April 12 to highlight its lack
of disabled access.
The Norfolk
Coalition of Disabled People says its members are being denied the
right to travel in dignity.
The coalition
is the county's largest organisation run by disabled people, representing
more than 35 cross-impairment groups.
Around 100
demonstrators gathered on the platform. They said the footbridge
across the railway lines is a no-go area for wheelchair users.
A barrow crossing,
allowing wheelchairs to cross the lines, was taken out in the early
1990s.
Half-mile
journey
During
the protest, wheelchair users who bought tickets to Norwich at the
ticket office had to be taken on a half-mile trip in a specially
equipped taxi to reach the other platform just yards away.
Keith Roads
of the Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People said: "Access to public
transport is a key issue for improving our lives. It's horrendous
here - absolutely pathetic."
Safety
concerns
The
station is leased from Railtrack by Central Trains.
Gerard Burgess,
from Central Trains, said a wheelchair crossing over the lines was
not allowed for safety reasons.
A bridge that
could take wheelchairs would cost around £500,000.
He said the
company wasn't complacent and every year more of its stations were
made fully accessible to wheelchair users.
Memorial
to campaigner
The
protest was a memorial to one of NCODP's foremost campaigners, Peter
Midwinter.
Peter, who died
recently, was the long-serving chairman of the Thetford Access Group
who dedicated much time to getting full access at the station for
disabled people.
"This is
a fight that NCODP has pledged to continue and is determined to
win," Mr Roads said.
For further
details contact: Keith Roads on 01603 464698 or 07786227914 or Jonathan
Toye on 01553 776177
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