'New station lifts at Ludlow mean I can finally explore'
Ms Say, from Cwmbran in South Wales, is on the Transport for Wales Access and Inclusion Panel, a voluntary board of people with a range of needs who offer advice on how best to improve facilities."I haven't been able to [use Ludlow station] - but now I am able to, Ludlow will be seeing a lot more of me, I'll be able to explore this area which is quite exciting really," she said.
Because she was unable to access Ludlow's second platform , Ms Say had to travel to Shrewsbury and back to Ludlow in order to get to the other side of the tracks. "It's really, really good to be able to do a straight-forward journey that other people take for granted," she said.
Adrian Carrington, TfW's head of station infrastructure, said Ludlow station is important as it connects southern Shropshire and Wales with towns and cities like Manchester."This station here has 56 [train] services a day, and just under a quarter of a million footfall per year," he said.
South Shropshire's Conservative MP Stuart Anderson also attended the opening - and after an operation on his foot was using crutches.He said he has been using crutches "on and off" for years, but using public transport was "not an easy thing.""I think accessibility is part of people's everyday life - if you don't consider it, you're basically saying 'you cannot travel this way'."
Rachel Heath, operations manager for Network Rail Wales and Borders said the organisation has lots of plans to improve accessibility along its Marches line, which runs between Wales and England."We haven't always been able to provide that service for everybody, so this investment is really important," Ms Heath said.
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