Plea for £2m new rail bridge to be opened
A £2 million footbridge to give disabled access to a railway station for the first time remains closed seven months after completion due to technical difficulties with CCTV cameras.
Contractors for Network Rail carried out the work at Chirk Station, near Oswestry, in December last year.
They built the new ramped footbridge to give wheelchair access to platform one for northbound trains for the first time, and providing an accessible drop-off point, disabled car park spaces, improved station signage and some new tactile paving.
But while the work was completed more than seven months ago, the footbridge remains closed to the public, to the frustration of passengers.
Now Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South, has written to Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne calling for the new footbridge to be opened.
"Local residents and I are fed up with the delay. It's totally unacceptable," she said.
"Local rail-users were delighted when the Friends of Chirk Station and representatives of Network Rail and Alun Griffiths Contractors worked together to secure this major improvement. However, the new footbridge still hasn't been opened. It isn't fair on local residents, especially those who carry heavy cases or need it for reasons of mobility.
"There's a suggestion that the bridge hasn't been opened because of the need for extra lights. But whatever the reason – Network Rail needs to clarify what is going on and how long the work will take, and then they need to get the footbridge opened."
In her letter, the MP called for an immediate review, adding: "Clearly such a high-profile project which has resulted from considerable investment and co-operation deserves to be completed at the earliest opportunity."
Chirk was one of five stations in Wales which was granted money to provide better access.
Hannah McCarthy, Network Rail spokeswoman, said: "Passengers will benefit from a better travelling experience when work is completed to increase accessibility at Chirk station. Improving access at stations makes a real difference to passengers.
"We are having technical issues with the CCTV on the new footbridge which means we have had to delay opening the footbridge to the public.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank passengers for bearing with us as we work to resolve this issue as quickly as we can. We can completely understand the frustration of 'there's the bridge, why can't we use it?'."
