Disabled access for Pontefract station as £2.4m funding is confirmed

Campaigners are calling for transport minister Lord Andrew Adonis to visit Monkhill Railway station which is in desperate need of a revamp before a new London service starts there from December

Under plans unveiled this week, work will be carried out on the existing footbridge, alongside the installation of two lifts.

It comes as Yvette Cooper, MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, revealed she had heard stories of disabled passengers being left to crawl over the footbridge.

She said: “It’s great news that after all our campaigning, Pontefract Monkhill station is finally to get the disabled access it so desperately needs.

Revamp: Coun Matthew Morley with Pontefract councillors at the station.

“I spoke to one passenger who had to crawl over the bridge at Monkhill while a stranger carried her wheelchair.

“It shouldn’t have taken so long to get this funding. No one should be denied the chance to travel because of their disability.

“Now we will keep up the pressure until the improvements are in place and I won’t stop campaigning until we get the same improvements for Knottingley Station too.”

A total of £2.38m has been invested in the scheme, including a £1m grant from the Department for Transport, a £1.23m investment by the council and a £150k contribution from West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Coun Matthew Morley, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for planning and highways, said: “We are delighted to secure this funding to bring these much needed improvements to Monkhill Station.

“We want to encourage people to use public transport to help them access jobs and facilities in the district and beyond. It also helps to tackle congestion on our roads and cut carbon emissions.

“Installing a lift at Monkhill will make it much more accessible to everyone, improving the lives of our disabled residents and visitors.”

Work at the station is expected to be completed next year.