Why has Luton station waited 18 years for lifts?

Ben Schofield/BBC Karen James, seated in a wheelchair and looking direct to camera, with her husband Mansfield holding the chair's handles. They are outside and Karen is wearing a thick black coat that ends below her knees. She has silvery hair cut into a bob. Mansfield is standing and wearing a red bobble hat, dark glasses, a dark fleece and blue jeans. They are on the edge of a grassed area, with white art deco style buildings and some trees in the background. — Karen James said it took her about 20 minutes to walk up the stairs at Luton railway station while her husband Mansfield carried her wheelchair

For almost two decades, passengers at a town’s main railway station have repeatedly been promised lifts – but they have never arrived.

Travellers at Luton, named among England’s 10 worst stations in 2009, still face flights of stairs to reach most platforms.

Gold medal-winning Paralympian and wheelchair user Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said the 18-year wait was “ridiculous” and “completely unacceptable”.

Network Rail acknowledged “how frustrating the delays are” and apologised.

It plans to start preparatory work in the spring but did not know how long the project would take or how much it would cost.

So what has the wait meant for passengers with disabilities?

Luton railway station was originally built with three platforms in 1868 and was rebuilt in 1937

Ben Schofield/BBC Looking up an imposing brick wall, with a "welcome to Luton" sign hanging over a doorway, which is only partially visible. Higher above the sign is a clock, with a white face and Roman numerals. — Luton railway station was originally built with three platforms in 1868 and was rebuilt in 1937

Last year, 3.6 million passengers used Luton – the 144th busiest station in the UK.

Karen James, 53, is unlikely to be among them in the future.

In May, she moved away from the Bedfordshire town where she had lived all her life, partly due to the continued lack of lifts.

A wheelchair user since 2018, she has osteoarthritis in her back, and fibromyalgia which causes chronic fatigue, brain fog and dizziness.

She previously used the station to visit her son and 20-month-old grandson in Welwyn in neighbouring Hertfordshire.

But four of its five platforms are only accessible by stairs, which she finds agonising and take her “forever” to climb.

“My husband would have to bump down the wheelchair,” she added.

Four of the station’s five platforms are only accessible by stairs

Ben Schofield/BBC Looking down an empty flight of stairs at Luton station. There are yellow, metal handrails along the walls and a central yellow handrail running along the middle of the flight. Each step has a yellow kick guard on its edge. At the bottom of the stairs a vending machine can be seen on the platform as well as a glimpse of the railway tracks and an information board at the bottom. — Four of the station’s five platforms are only accessible by stairs

Going back up was worse than descending.

“It took me a good 20 minutes or so to get up the steps and I was just exhausted,” she said.

“When you’ve got disabilities, you should be able to have access to everything you need, like transport.”

Luton station has a lift to a ticket office but platforms one to four can only be accessed via stairs

Ben Schofield/BBC The exterior of Luton Station, as seen from the town centre side of the tracks. Two lampposts stand either side of a set of stairs that dog-leg from the street level to an un-seen ticket office. A red and white railway sign can be seen on the left of the image. There is tarmac in the foreground and a blue sky with thin clouds hangs above the station. — Luton station has a lift to a ticket office but platforms one to four can only be accessed via stairs

Luton’s passengers were first promised better access in 2006 when Labour ministers launched an Access for All fund, promising £370m over 10 years.

Luton was among the first 42 stations in line for some of that investment, which the Department for Transport (DfT) said would “generally” include “the provision of lifts or ramps”.

Three years later, then transport secretary Lord Adonis promised a portion of a £50m improvement fund.

In 2014, the Conservative government announced Luton would share another £100m from Access for All, when railways minister Baroness Kramer said the money would “make a real difference to the lives of disabled passengers”.

Projects would be “completed by 2019”, but work at Luton and several other stations was postponed.

Platforms ‘not strong enough’

Another announcement in 2019 said the project would be re-started, with work “completed by the end of March 2024”.

For much of this period, there was an ambition to completely rebuild the station, partly financed through access funding, but it did not get off the ground.

Most recently, station owner Network Rail said “detailed design work” had revealed platform extensions – installed in 2010 – were not strong enough to bear the weight of the planned lifts.

Strengthening work is due to begin next spring.

Marie McCormick has dystonia and the prospect of tackling stairs causes her “panic”

Ben Schofield/BBC Looking direct to camera, Marie McCormick is standing outside Luton Station. She is wearing a yellow corduroy jacket and a flower print silk scarf. She has shoulder length blond hair. Her head is slightly tilted and twisted due to her living with dystonia. — Marie McCormick has dystonia and the prospect of tackling stairs causes her “panic”

Marie McCormick, 64, has dystonia, which causes muscle spasms in her upper limbs and neck, and she said the situation was “discriminatory”.

“Policymakers have a duty of care to provide equality in public spaces,” she said.

She would like to use trains more for days out and hospital appointments, but said using the steps would give her “palpitations”.

Poor access made her and others with disabilities vulnerable to “isolation…. it just exacerbates the social exclusion”.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said Luton’s experience should prompt “serious questions”

PA Media Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson looking direct to camera. She is wearing a lilac top, with frilled collar and cuffs, black trousers, and dark framed, rectangular glasses. She is seated in a wheelchair. The top of one wheel is visible on the right of the image. Her hands are folded on her lap. She is posing in front of an advertising hoarding, which has the names of several brands printed on it. — Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said Luton’s experience should prompt “serious questions”

Baroness Grey-Thompson, who crawled off a train in London in the summer when assistance did not arrive after 20 minutes, said there was a “massive sense of frustration” in the failure to bring ageing stations up to date.

She said Luton’s 18-year wait seemed “a ridiculous amount of time”.

“When people see the station is going to get Access for All funding, there is an assumption that there’s going to be pretty major change,” she said.

“If the funding’s there and the will is there, these sort of things should just happen.

“There needs to be some really serious questions asked about why is it so complicated to do it.”

In a statement, the independent London TravelWatch watchdog said implementation had been “painfully slow” and “extremely frustrating” for wheelchair users, as well as for passengers with buggies or heavy luggage.

“It is one of [our] key priorities to ensure this programme of work is better implemented across the network, to ensure all stations are more accessible,” it said.

“We understand the work at Luton will begin next spring, and look forward to this work being completed without further delays.”

Luton is mostly served by Thameslink and East Midlands Railway trains

Ben Schofield/BBC A look along a near-deserted platform at Luton station, with tracks sweeping away into the distance, from bottom right into the middle-left of the image. The station's 1930s clock tower is just visible in the background, as is a footbridge over the tracks. — Luton is mostly served by Thameslink and East Midlands Railway trains

Local MP Rachel Hopkins said the continued delays were not acceptable

Ben Schofield/BBC Rachel Hopkins, wearing a bright red overcoat and patterned silk scarf, is standing outside Luton Station looking direct to camera. She is wearing dark rimmed glasses and has brown, shoulder-length hair. Behind her, the station entrance is seen, with pedestrians milling about and some signs. — Local MP Rachel Hopkins said the continued delays were not acceptable

Luton South and South Bedfordshire Labour MP Rachel Hopkins said she had heard “various reasons” for the delays.

“It was pushed from one budget period to the next budget period, then it was Covid, then it was all the designs, then it was ‘we’re trying to start, but we found some problems’,” she said.

She said Network Rail “isn’t project-managing it properly enough”.

“For them to keep delaying – I don’t think it’s acceptable.”

Station operator Govia Thameslink said it wanted lifts installed “as soon as possible” and was supporting Network Rail.

Station staff, it added, would help passengers and arrange alternative transport to Luton Airport Parkway for those unable to manage stairs.

Since Access for All launched, step-free accessible routes have been built at more than 250 stations.

Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Midlands route, said: “We are committed to providing access improvements at Luton station and are sorry this is taking longer that we would like.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “Everyone should be able to travel with ease and confidence, which is why this government is committed to improving the accessibility of our railways.

“While previous plans for improvements at Luton station were delayed at the time due to design challenges, Network Rail is now responsible for the works, which are progressing.”