Published on: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Last updated: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Greater Anglia is investing £40,000 on improving the reliability of lifts at Chelmsford station – during which time the lifts will be out of action.
The major work, which begins later this month, will see the doors and structure underneath the lifts replaced.
The lifts will be out of order while the work is carried out. The lift on platform 1 (London-bound) will be out of order from 26 November to 7 December and the lift on platform 2 (Norwich-bound) will be out of order from 7 December until 21 December.
When the lift on platform 2 is out of service, Greater Anglia staff will escort customers needing assistance onto the platform via a gate. Customers should allow extra time in their journey for this.
While work is being carried out to the lift on platform 1, unfortunately there is no alternative step-free access. During this time, customers with accessibility needs travelling to Chelmsford from further north, will have to get off at Witham, where Greater Anglia will provide a taxi to Chelmsford. Customers travelling towards London from Chelmsford, will be provided with a taxi from Chelmsford to Shenfield station, where they can board London-bound trains.
Greater Anglia is asking customers with accessibility needs to give advanced notice of their journey, if possible, so that staff can book taxis ahead, to reduce delays to passengers’ journeys as a result of the lifts being overhauled.
Simi Tinubu, Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager, said: “The lifts at Chelmsford station are not as reliable as we would like them to be, so major work is being carried out to rectify ongoing faults. The lifts have broken down on several occasions this year and we are carrying out extensive work to make sure this doesn’t happen.
“Unfortunately, there is no good time to carry out this work. However, all passengers will still be able to complete their journeys. We ask that passengers needing assistance give us as much notice and information as possible and we would like to thank them for their patience while this work is carried out.
“Chelmsford is a busy station and we want it to be accessible for everyone.