Beeston station in Nottingham yesterday (Thursday 6 March) officially opened its new, accessible facilities.

The station is operated by East Midlands Railway (EMR). It now has new lifts, staircases and a walkway, which make the station easier to use for passengers. The new facilities will particularly benefit passengers who use a wheelchair, have limited mobility or are travelling with luggage, bicycles or pushchairs.

The project has involved installing two new lifts at Beeston station, and replacing the previous set of steps on Platform 1 with a new set that is integrated into the Station Road / Meadow Road flyover, which passes above the station.

Network Rail carried out the work, which was funded by the Department for Transport’s Access for All fund. The work began over a year ago, and was supposed to be completed in autumn last year.

Beeston is also one of EMR’s stations which began providing free WiFi last year.

Network Rail points out that making stations accessible to everyone benefits the economy. It reduces travel by car, which lowers traffic and cuts carbon emissions.

The official opening was attended by local Labour Lilian Greenwood MP, who is the current Minister for Future of Roads. Also in attendance were representatives of Network Rail, East Midlands Railway and Friends of Beeston Station.

Work on the station’s new car park is still ongoing. The next step is the installation of CCTV, which is scheduled to be carried out later this month. This will enable the new car parking spaces to open.

“We’re delighted with the lifts at the station and would like to thank the Access for All programme at the Department for Transport for this means of making our station accessible. The commitment from Network Rail for improving access has been amazing. People who struggle with stairs in any way can now get to the platforms. We owe a lot to Network Rail and the Access for All programme.”

Trish Roberts-Thomson, chair of Friends of Beeston Station