More than 50 lifts upgraded across the Northern network

Northern and Network Rail have delivered a new project that has transformed accessibility for many stations in the North West.

The working hours of more than 50 lifts across 25 Northern stations have now been extended ensuring that, when trains are running, the lifts can be used.  

The upgrades have been carried out to provide passengers, particularly those with special mobility needs, with more reliable step-free access to platforms. 

The project is part of a wider work by the rail industry to improve accessibility to stations and trains as well as modernise the network.  

Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “We have inherited an ageing infrastructure with many of our stations tracing their heritage and facilities back to the Victorian era. 

“As an industry we are working hard to modernise the network and the improvements made to the lifts will enhance the overall experience for our customers.  

“This is a phased project to deliver improved accessibility and we will seek to roll out similar improvements at other stations in the future. 

Stephen Brookes, Minister for Disabled People’s rail sector champion, said: “It is vitally important that the large number of disabled passengers who travel by rail are supported by projects which make trains and stations more accessible.  

“I am very pleased to see that Northern is continuing to empower disabled people to access rail services independently. By making changes and improvements to the lift operation times at many stations, this is another positive step toward a truly integrated transport system.” 

Phil James, North West route director at Network Rail said: “The rail industry is working hard to improve accessibility and I hope projects like this demonstrate our commitment to give people with additional mobility needs the confidence to travel by rail.  

 “Extending the operating hours of the 50 lifts in 25 of Northern’s stations will mean passengers can travel more flexibly across the full timetable and help themselves when assistance staff are not on duty. We are delighted to work with Northern on this putting passengers first initiative.” 

A full list of the stations with this new facility can be seen below:  

Altrincham, Ashton, Atherton, Barrow in Furness, Birchwood, Blackburn, Bolton, Buckshaw Parkway, Cheadle Hulme, Deansgate, Huyton, Kirkham & Wesham, Leyland, Manchester Victoria, Marple, Newton-le-Willows, Manchester Oxford Road, Poulton-Le-Fylde, Roby, Rochdale, Salford Central, Salford Crescent, St Helens Central, Warrington Central, Warrington West, Wigan Wallgate. 

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, employing more than 6,000 people, and running regional and commuter services across the north of England.

The operator has begun to oversee the removal of Pacer trains and the first 75 of 101 brand new trains, part of a £500 million investment in regional rail, have been introduced.

Other improvements on the Northern network include:

• more than 2,000 extra services each week, with around 400 additional Sunday services, including new direct journeys from Bradford to Wakefield, Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool and Hull; from Leeds to Chester and Bridlington; from Lincoln to Leeds; and from Manchester Airport to Warrington, Bradford and Halifax
• a nearly 40% increase in capacity - creating space for 31,000 extra customers travelling into the five major commuter cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle) of the north during the morning rush-hour
• improved ticketing, including mobile and print-at-home tickets, and discounted fares for jobseekers.

To find out more about the work we are doing to improve our network please click here.

Northern provides 2,800 local and regional train services every day across the north of England, serving a population of nearly 15 million. There are now 108 million passenger journeys made on our network each year.