Longniddry Railway Station 'virtually inaccessible' for disabled boy

A LONGNIDDRY dad says that poor facilities at the village's train station have made it "virtually inaccessible" for his disabled 12-year-old son.

Gary Fegan has written to ScotRail to express concern about the disabled access at Longniddry Railway Station.

Gary's son Cormac has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic condition which affects all the muscles in his body, causing them to waste away.

Gary has previously fundraised to raise awareness of DMD, raising more than £3,000 by running more than 400 miles in 2016.

Now in his first year at Preston Lodge High School, Cormac, who also suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, uses a power chair to get around school.

Gary said that, as Cormac got older, it was inevitable he would want to travel by train with friends.

He said: "We expect he will, at some point, want to be a bit more independent and that means getting trains to places like Edinburgh.

"Unfortunately, as it stands, Longniddry station is virtually inaccessible for Cormac. There is no lift at Longniddry to allow you to cross over the platforms.

"The car park is at the front of platform one, which has a ramp to access it. But platform two (which goes to Edinburgh) can only be accessed via a private dirt road.

"This road is cobbled and tight, and there is no parking there.

"Cormac couldn't take his power chair along it. It makes getting a train from that platform virtually impossible.

"Even if I were to take him on the train, it would mean I would have to drop him off at the platform, leave him there so I could drive back to the car park and park, and then come over the stair bridge to meet him. It's ridiculous."

Gary has called on ScotRail to install a lift on each side of the stair bridge over the platform.

He said: "A lift would solve all of the problems.

"You go to Dunbar station and they have a lift either side, which makes it easily accessible.

"It is not just for him but for others with disabilities or for the elderly. Not everyone can easily climb stairs."

After being diagnosed with DMD in 2014, Cormac continues to receive a drug called Translarna to help treat the condition.

Gary said: "Cormac is doing well. He continues to take the drug he is on and we are now in a transition period almost where he is growing up.

"He can still walk a bit but he is becoming more reliant on the power chair now.

"As he gets older, I think it is vital that he has access to public facilities like the train station."

Patrick Nyamurundira, ScotRail access and inclusion manager, said: "ScotRail is dedicated to making sure that all rail users have equal access.

"We enable tens of thousands of assisted travel journeys each year, and many more spur-of-the moment trips.

"Our ‘Accessible Travel Service’ provides free assistance to disabled people who need a little extra help, whether it has been booked in advance or not.

"Disabled people can contact our assisted travel team at scotrail.co.uk/accessible-travel and can speak to an advisor by calling 0800 046 1634.

"We’re committed to building on the success of this service, which includes listening to and acting on feedback from our customers, and we’ll continue to work with our stakeholders at all levels to ensure that everyone can travel with confidence."

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