A railway station near the home of Aston Villa football club in Birmingham is ready to welcome all supporters ahead of the Euro 2028 championships.
West Midlands Trains (WMT) installed accessible waiting spaces and other types of signage at Witton Lane station in January 2024, meaning that all supporters attending European championship matches in Birmingham can travel to matches at at Villa Park by rail during the tournament with ease regardless of age, gender, race or disability.
It was announced in December 2023 that there would be further upgrades to Witton Lane station in the long term with designs around this being revealed by the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE).
There are 4 proposed changes to Witton Lane railway station that is located just a 5 to 10 minute walk or wheel away from Villa Park and they are as follows:
- New pedestrian tunnel under the rail line at station road.
- Deeper and wider platforms at the station that will allow more supporters to queue for longer trains after matches.
- Shelters will be replaced on both platforms with open canopies
- New passenger ramps to both platforms which it is hoped will increase queuing capacity after matches.
I hope that the accessible waiting spaces that come in the form of blue and white boxes and feature both a white wheelchair logo and the words ” for mobility assistance, please wait here” will remain following the redevelopment.
There are also other types of signage at the station that mirror what the spaces are designed to do, they also feature a white wheelchair logo and the wording ” for mobility assistance, please wait here” .
My meeting with the team at WMT (West Midlands Trains) on November the 28th, 2023 proved that there is a real need for waiting spaces and the other types of signage that have also been installed, once the upgrades have been completed ahead of Euro 2028 I hope that it can be returned to the locations on the platforms at Witton Lane station where it was originally installed.
I do however appreciate that this might not be possible to due where the accessible doors are located on the trains following the mentioned changes at the station.
The changes that have be proposed by the WMRE (West Midlands Rail Executive) are something that I warmly welcome and support as a disability activist and Aston Villa supporter, I look forward to using the station once the works have been completed.
However my clear but simple message to Richard Parker, the mayor of the West Midlands about the proposed upgrades to Witton station ahead of Euro 2028 is this, please can you ensure that the accessible waiting spaces and other types of signage that were installed by West Midlands Trains (WMT) in January 2024 are reinstalled once the works are completed at the station.
The spaces will play an essential role in ensuring that all supporters can travel with ease to Euro 2028 matches that are hosted at Villa Park.
This is not to be used as an excuse to remove the spaces and signs at I worked hard to get on behalf of our community!!!!
Do you travel by rail on a regular basis and require assistance to either board or disembark services?, your assisted travel can be booked up to 2 hours before departure in 1 of 3 ways.
By Phone: 0800 024 8998 or by using Next Generation Text – 18001 0800 024 8998.
Online: https://booking.passengerassistance.com.
By using the App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/passenger-assistance/id1542190496.
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The whole team at WMT have been incredible over the last year or so since they became aware of the challenges that both I and others face when using the rail network to travel around the region and beyond on things like match-days, your dedication and hard work during the course of this project hasn’t gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
A thank you must also go to you, my loyal readers and social media followers who continually take the time out of your busy schedules to read my latest post it again doesn’t go unnoticed and is of course very much appreciated.
Cam
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