I can’t put into words how grateful I am to the Aston Villa fanbase 22 months on from when the railway stations surrounding the stadium got new accessibility tools.
Supporters reading this will know that I’ve supported Birmingham’s claret and blue side since 2010.
In the last 5 or so years I’ve travelled to Villa Park in Birmingham by rail, something that be can challenging at times as a wheelchair user.
On the 18th of February 2023 I wrote to West Midlands Railway’s Customer Experience Director about the challenges that I and others face when using the rail network on matchdays to attend fixtures.
Finally on November the 28th that year I met with and showed officials from the operator what i experience at Witton station when visiting B6.
After much discussion I had a moment of inspiration and suggested they consider trialling waiting spaces and other types of signage on platforms at Witton and Aston railway stations.
Much to my surprise WMR liked the idea and began working out how it could be implemented at both stations and at the end of January last year (2024), it was installed at Witton.
Aston, quickly followed suit in the May of that year which opened the door for other stations managed by the operator that near event arenas to have the tools installed on the platforms.
Thanks to the success of the initial pilot at stations near Aston Villa’s home there are 17 stations with these improvements and they are: The Hawthorns, Coventry Arena, Kenilworth, Lye, Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill, Shenstone, Blake Street, Gravelly Hill, Erdington, Chester Road, Wylde Green, Four Oaks, Litchfield City, Telford Central, Sutton Coldfield and Selly Oak.
Blue and White boxes featuring a white wheelchair logo and the words “ for mobility assistance, please wait here” along with signage mirroring the same messaging can be seen from either end of the platforms by passengers, station staff and train crew.
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A thank you must also go to you, my regular loyal readers and social media followers who continually take the time out of your busy schedules to read my latest posts, it hasn’t gone unnoticed and is as always very much appreciated.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all the Villa supporters who travel to matches by rail, the support you have shown to our (the disabled) community who want to travel to VP by rail hasn’t gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
Cam
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