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Monday 11 Nov 2024

New accessible facility to arrive at Liverpool Lime Street

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

A new dedicated waiting lounge is coming to Liverpool Lime Street to help passengers who need help to get on and off trains.

The facility will give passengers a dedicated waiting lounge to make travelling by train a more pleasant experience.

The space will provide a quiet and welcoming waiting area for passengers with additional mobility and sensory needs, with a dedicated team on hand to help.

The lounge also includes:

• Accessible seating with integrated space for wheelchairs
• An accredited Changing Places toilet facility*
• A staffed welcome desk
• British Sign Language information screens

Kyla Thomas, Liverpool Lime Street’s station manager said: “Changing Places facilities play a crucial role in all train stations and as a key transport hub, it will be a massive benefit to Liverpool Lime Street.

"It will ensure people with complex physical needs can travel with dignity, comfort, and independence. I am looking forward to this being installed along with the assisted travel lounge facilities.”

Major train operators which serve Liverpool Lime Street have welcomed the opening of the new Assisted Travel Lounge for their customers.

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern in the North West, said: “All improvements to stations that make them more accessible to customers are to be welcomed – and a Changing Places toilet at Liverpool Lime Street is a great addition to the accessibility roll call in the region.”

Andrea Thomas, Avanti West Coast station manager at Liverpool Lime Street, said: “Changing Places toilets enable more people to use the railway safely and comfortably by giving them greater access to the equipment they need.

It’s great Liverpool Lime Street is benefiting from these facilities, as it will improve the experience and offer more journey opportunities for customers travelling on our network.”

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director at London Northwestern Railway, said: “Having a dedicated waiting room with a staffed welcome desk means our passengers who need assistance can feel confident they’ll get the support they need.

"As we prepare to increase the number of trains serving Liverpool Lime Street, this new facility will be a huge help for our current customers with accessibility needs while reassuring new passengers that they’ll be well taken care of when they travel with us.”

Dr Robert Gravelle, Transport for Wales Multi modal access & inclusion manager said: “Transport for Wales (TfW) is committed to increase the availability of these important community facilities across the whole TfW network.

"Supporting our customers independence, not only in their use of our widening transport network; but in recognition of the benefits Changing Places Toilets deliver in respect of inclusion and opportunities for socialising, education and employment.”

The Network Rail station team works closely with train operators to help passengers who need assistance getting between trains and the station concourse and last year, more than 22,000 people used the service at Liverpool Lime Street station.

Councillor Steve Foulkes, chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: "We're delighted to see these new facilities open at Lime Street station, which will help make journeys more comfortable for passengers with additional needs.

"It's important for us to make sure rail travel is made easy for as many people as possible and alongside the work that has been carried out to make more stations step-free in the last decade, this is another example of why our city region rail network is one of the most accessible in the country."

Network Rail signed an agreement with Muscular Dystrophy UK to deliver the facility to Liverpool Lime Street station by the summer of 2025.

Rob Burley, director of Care, Campaigns and Support at Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: “We’re delighted that Network Rail is opening a Changing Places toilet at Liverpool Lime Street demonstrating a real commitment to opening up the rail network to as many people as possible. We know that without Changing Places toilets, an estimated 250,000 people across the UK, including many with a muscle wasting and weakening condition, are forced to limit their journeys and may even feel unable to travel outside of their home. 

“Muscular Dystrophy UK is proud to co-chair the Changing Places Consortium and to have worked with the team at Network Rail to make this possible.”