Helen Morgan

I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of step free access at rural railway stations. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. In constituencies such as North Shropshire, access to public transport is poor. There are just three fully operational railway stations in North Shropshire, along with two very rural request stops. Shropshire’s second and third largest towns do not have a station at all. Whitchurch, home to around 10,000 people, does not have step-free access from the southbound platform. The station is a vital hub, particularly for the eastern side of the constituency and for those needing to connect with west coast main line services at Crewe or on to Chester or Manchester and southward to Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Wales. This has been an issue for a very long time. Every time I go out and knock on doors in Whitchurch, inadequate access to the railway is brought up by countless people. Residents of Whitchurch who want to access the southbound platform to travel down to the county town of Shrewsbury or to exit the station when travelling down from the north are forced to tackle 44 steps up and down a footbridge. Those who are disabled or elderly, in a wheelchair or with heavy bikes, prams or large suitcases are often physically unable to access half of the trains going out of the station, or exit the station into the town when coming in from the north.