As someone who uses a wheelchair to navigate everyday life ” I fear that the fact those with disabilities or mobility issues being able to travel up to Colwall from Ledbury and change trains there” will be seen as an excuse for the government not too improve the accessibility of the station in Ledbury.
Yes there is the issue of it taking longer for us to complete our journey’s to the market town (Ledbury) as a direct result of having to travel further up the line to change trains and return on the westbound platform in the direction of Hereford. However it is all worth it when you are able to stay on just mode of transport instead of to.
This is a brilliant solution to solving the issue of accessibility at the station on the edge of Herefordshire, and one that I view as acceptable for our ( the disabled) community.
Earlier this year I wrote to Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE who is the current Minister for Rail and HS2 at the Department for Transport about the issue of Access for All funding being cancelled for the station after it had been previously promised.
The north Herefordshire railway station has not been accessible to those with mobility issues during my lifetime and I do not think that this will change anytime in the distant future unfortunately.
As I have stated in another post on the subject in the first couple of months of 2026, the now publicly funded rail operator, West Midlands Railway confirmed that rail passengers who have mobility issues which stop us from leaving trains at Ledbury, can travel up to the neighbouring station to Ledbury, Colwall and change trains there for no additional fee.
My message to the government is a clear one and is this, I see this as a reasonable solution to this issue and one that won’t be costly for the rail operator to fund.
I completely agree that funding ” so called” accessibility improvements at the station would be very costly and it would be easier and cheaper for WMR (West Midlands Railway) to pay the travel costs from Ledbury to Colwall and back then carrying out permanent station improvements using AFA (Access for All) funding.
Some of you reading this right now will not like me for making that statement, but that is my current opinion on the matter after a lot of thought about it in recent weeks, days and of course months.
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Once again it is only right that I take this opportunity to thank the accessibility team at the rail operator, who have of course gone above and beyond in recent years when improving the accessibility of some of there station stock for those with mobility issues or disabilities, it does not go unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
Thank you to each and everyone of you, my loyal readers and social media followers who continually take the time out of there busy schedules to read my latest posts, it does not go unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
Cam
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