Train travellers at West Croydon Station have also been having to deal with an imposed service change today, and one which disability groups say was not adequately consulted and which puts their members at a considerable inconvenience if they need to get a connecting train.
Notices went up on the station within the past fortnight advising of a four-minute walk via a step-free route to get from London Overground trains ending their journey at Platform 1, to south-bound Southern trains which stop at Platform 4
The advertised change had not been advised in advance to the Croydon Disability Forum, who would normally be consulted on such matters by Transport for London.
Adrian Dennis, the chair of the Forum, told Inside Croydon, “I am seeking opinions from disabled members who rely on trains.
“Train journeys are already extremely difficult for many with mobility problems, limited vision and wheelchair users, and this does seem to add time and complications for many.
Adrian Dennis: asking questions of TfL
“An additional four-minute walk for an able-bodied person would become a lot longer for those with any disabilities and often involve increased levels of pain which would now make such journeys impossible.”
Dennis also notes that the TfL poster carries no contact details for further information, especially, Dennis says, “Why they are doing this?”
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I once missed two trains at West Croydon waiting for staff to press the release on the gate for platforms one and three. The step free access on Platform four closes quite early in the evening.
Reblogged this on sed30's Blog and commented:
Too many changes
Of course changing from the Overground to the services towards Victoria will be so much easier as it will be cross platform. As for those travelling towards Sutton etc. they should be able to change at Norwood Junction instead, although the service to Sutton will be 2 an hour (same platform according to the timetable) They may also be able to make the change at Crystal Palace although that involves almost a long a distance as West Croydon.
Ideally they need to rebuild West Croydon Station, but that is way down the list of jobs.
As well as being an inconvenience to disabled passengers, this will also be an inconvenience to anyone who is used to getting off an Overground train and using the side entrance from Platform 4, which leads directly to the tram stop and bus station.