A disabled rights group has pulled up Glasgow subway chiefs for failing to include the improvement of access to the service in their revamp plans.
Wheelchair Spaces
SPT bosses announced a new design of driverless subway carriages last week. The plans for the £200,000,000 revamp also include wheelchair spaces on every train. However, the Glasgow Disability Alliance has pointed out that the issue for many disabled people lies in them not being able to access the subway stations, rather than the trains themselves.
The Glasgow Disability Alliance has around 3,000 members, many of whom have “ruled out” ever being able to travel on the subway because they are unable to get to the platforms.
Wheelchair users can currently only access the subway at St Enoch station, with further access planned for Govan station as part of the modernisation work.
Lack of Access
Glasgow Disability Alliance deputy Chief executive Marianne Scobie has criticised SPT over the lack of access to the network.
Marianne said: “[Our members] just don’t think it will ever be something that will change.
“Right now, St. Enoch station has a lift which is fine if you want to go on a round trip on the subway without getting off.
“It’s really frustrating that in this day and age we still don’t have access to the underground which is one of the things that makes Glasgow completely different to other cities in the UK.”
“The irony is the underground trains, even the ones now, because they are completely level with the platform and because of the way they have been designed, they would be really accessible if people could get down to the platform.
“It’s really frustrating that in this day and age we still don’t have access to the underground which is one of the things that makes Glasgow completely different to other cities in the UK.
“We’re one of the few cities in the UK which has an underground system yet we’re still denying that to people who are wheelchair users.”
Adapting Their Current Escalators
The Glasgow Disability Alliance hopes that even if installing lift shafts isn’t an option the SPT will consider adapting their current escalators to make them wheelchair accessible. Marianne also pointed out other people such as those with prams can have trouble accessing the subway.
A spokeswoman from SPT said: “We worked closely with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) and Glasgow Access Panel to look at the access challenges faced by people with a disability.
“It was their input that resulted in the very significant engineering commission to install lifts at Govan and St Enoch’s stations and explored solutions to enable wheelchair users to access our trains.
“This will enable journeys from two of our main stations from the city centre to the south of Glasgow offering easier access to the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus and further travel from the Govan integrated transport hub.
“It is technically not feasible to introduce lifts for wheelchair use at every station in the 120-year-old system.
“However, where there is a technically feasible solution, SPT remains fully committed and prepared to work to achieve fully accessible integrated transport for all.”
