Media centre

Tuesday 23 Jan 2018

Ramps and lift to improve access at Greater Manchester station

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Passengers at Mills Hill station are set to benefit from a new ramp and lift as part of the Great North Rail Project and the Access for All programme.

Starting in July 2018 and completing in the winter, Network Rail’s Team Orange will be upgrading the station.

New ticketing machines will also be fitted under Northern’s station improvement programme.

Jo Johnson MP, Minister for Rail, said: “We are investing £13 billion in the biggest upgrade of Northern transport for a generation, transforming travel for thousands of passengers through faster, more frequent and more comfortable services. This also includes removing the barriers that prevent people with reduced mobility from accessing stations, as well as helping parents with pushchairs and passengers with heavy luggage travel more easily.

“We have invested £3.1 million in building a new lift and ramp at Mills Hill Station to improve accessibility for all.”

Liz McInnes, MP for Middleton and Heywood, said: “I’m very happy to hear that these improvements will soon be made to Mills Hill station, which serves thousands of people in the Middleton area, including many with mobility issues and people with prams.

“It’s important that everyone has the opportunity to access public transport easily and without obstruction and I’m sure passengers will appreciate this investment.”

Rory Kingdon, senior sponsor at Network Rail, said: “The Access for All scheme at Mills Hill station is part of the Great North Rail Project to transform train travel for customers across the North.

“This will help customers with reduced mobility, families with prams and people carrying heavy luggage or shopping, enabling them to get around this busy station more easily.

“Thanks to careful planning with our colleagues at Northern, there will be no disruption to train services while we carry out this important upgrade work.”

Liam Sumpter, regional director for Northern said: “It’s great to see the investment and improvement work at Mills Hill part of the Great North Rail Project.

“We are absolutely committed to making our network as accessible as possible and it’s fantastic to see Network Rail complementing this with the installation of the ramp and lift.

“Our new ticket machines, which have a range of accessibility features and are being installed as part of a multi-million pound modernisation of our stations, will also give greater buying flexibility for customers.”

Councillor Andrew Fender, chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester committee said: “An accessible public transport system is one of Greater Manchester’s top priorities and I am delighted that investment is being made at Mills Hill. The lift and ramps are an important development that will assist all rail users to get where they need to and improve their experience of travelling by train.

“Too many rail stations in Greater Manchester are not fully accessible and it is right that enhancements are being made and customers will soon benefit from these improvements.

“Mills Hill is a very popular station and I’m sure greater accessibility will encourage more people to use our public transport network.”

Due to the constrained space available at the station, site cabins will be located in the car park. This will mean there will be no parking available throughout the duration of the works.

Mills Hill station in Middleton is used by 330,000 customers on a yearly basis.

The funding for these improvements has been provided by the Department of Transport’s Access for All programme.