The Petition of residents of Goring and Streatley and the surrounding area,
Declares that the Petitioners are concerned about the provision of mobility access to Goring and Streatley station.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to support the installation of lifts at Goring and Streatley railway station when the station footbridge is rebuilt in 2013–14 as part of the track electrification programme, thus ensuring that mobility impaired passengers are able to have equal and step-free access to the trains that serve the station.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by John Howell, Official Report, 24 April 2013; Vol. 561, c. 977.]
[P001173]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Transport:
I have asked Network Rail to advise on the costs and feasibility of installing lifts at Goring and Streatley station during the forthcoming electrification construction works on the Great Western Main Line.
As Goring and Streatley station is on a Trans-European Network (TEN) route, any major works are required to comply with the standards set out in “Technical Specification of Interoperability: Persons With Restricted Mobility” (Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2008) or, where this is not possible, to seek a derogation from those standards.
We have also announced £100 million to extend the Access for All programme from 2015 until 2019. We will be working with the rail industry over the next year to select stations to receive an accessible route. Stations will be chosen based on annual footfall, the incidence of disability in the area and the availability of any third party match funding. While I cannot guarantee that Goring and Streatley will be selected it will be considered along with other currently inaccessible stations.