Overview

I use this station fortnightly or more often. It can be accessed by your own vehicle, taxis, tram, local free bus or on foot but are some big caveats which need to be added. There are considerable differences between access to platforms 1 and 10 inside the main concourse but also between those and platforms 13/14. There are only 2 accessible toilets and only 1 on the main concourse itself. Neither are well signed; maintained and in 1 case not especially accessible. They are abused by staff working at the station because they are near. Staff on the station are okay with obvious physical disability but nothing better than okay. The attitude of senior station staff is generally very poor. Signage in the station is hugely variable. Different ownership does not help. So, for example the tram signage is far superior to the train signage and so on. The main concourse is cluttered and there is considerable glare from reflective flooring and poor use of glass.

Transport & Parking

There are car parks on the Fairfield side entrance and Store Street. These are through barriers and the former involves multiple speed bumps and 2 awkward turns which can cause problems for people with physical disabilities. There is accessible parking but it is not especially near to the station at either side and at Fairfield is often blocked by private hire vehicles dropping off people without disabilities by parking across 2 spaces. Taxi drivers also make the crossing point from the station to the Fairfield car park difficult. Both car parks cost unless you're there less than 20 mins.

Access

This is a crowded station with clutter; poor layout; lighting and inconsistent signage because of different ownership. Access from car parks is level from Store St. but by lift from Fairfield. However, Store St. can be 10 minutes walk to platforms 13/14 even including the climbing, moving pavement. Crossing to Fairfield can be a challenge as black cabs wait for no-one and will drive at you. Access by free bus takes you to the old station concourse but note drop offs are on a busy slope. There are 2 accessible toilets excluding those in bars or restaurants. See below for further toilet comments. There is a first class lounge for Virgin passengers but it is on the 1st floor and poor quality. The 1st floor can be accessed by lifts at either end but a narrow concourse in the middle makes it hard for chair users to pass without incident. A number of ground floor shops give no consideration to wheelchair use at all e.g. WHSmiths, Cards Galore. There is variable on platform seating but rarely near boarding points and concourse seating takes no account of disability at all. It’s all the same height and in small enough numbers to ensure that it’s dominated by people who would prefer a seat but don’t generally need one e.g. people who want to sit and chat or sit and read. Live data is available but, as ever, is too high; too small and poorly located.

Toilets

1 in the corner of the main concourse opposite baby changing facilities with minimal turning space between. It is between a Costa stall; a busy change machine and the main barrier fed toilets. It's hard to see and access. A radar key is required and station staff often use it! They will disregard someone being in there and let anyone in who complains they need an accessible toilet but have no key. This leads to frequent embarrassment. Concourse 1 is old; shabby and poorly maintained albeit the insides have recently been stripped away to expose some nice brickwork. However, the entrance is via a shirt but narrow aisle which means wheelchair users struggle to get in or out and queuing creates a problem in itself. The other 1 is on the concourse for 13/14 and is either open or in use by Costa staff up there. It’s the quieter better option but getting there involves lifts or 2 travelators. At least 1 of the latter is often out of order.

Staff

Individual staff can be very friendly so I'm sure it's possible to have a positive experience. However, they have clearly not had any meaningful disability awareness training and can be challenging to anyone with an invisible disability. They have a presence on social media and it is generally used for PR only. Engaging them in any discussion about an issue is difficult as they are aggressive and patronising. Essentially nothing is their fault and to resolve anything you have to go see them, and expect to be ranted at, or forget it. It's a depressing experience. I first wrote this in 2016 and it remains the case in 2019. This is a management issue and until the management change it’s hard to see the aggressive, ignorant staff culture changing either. Staff on both concourses (upper and lower) are disinterested in anything bar obvious physical disability and, as ever, like putting their prejudice on display by giving more favourable treatment to female travellers than make when it comes to obvious disability. Staff on 13/15 are especially unhelpful. They show no interest in ensuring passengers go up or down the correct stairs so disabled users are often confronted with people in a rush who see them as an obstacle to be accelerated past or taken out. Once on the platform the hatched area is not policed nor kept clear. Consequently it can be quite distressing to navigate. Once that’s done you have the nonsense of the line system (see additional information). This system is actively unhelpful to disabled users when the opposite could be true. Staff generally show no interest in anything beyond keeping suitcases and people behind the lines and congregating in twos for a chat. Attempts to approach for assistance will usually result in no more than being shouted at for crossing one of the lines.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

You no longer have to pay for toilets at this station but staff seem determined to direct anyone with an invisible impairment away from the accessible toilets. Their preference seems to be that the toilets are either available to mothers with children; the staff themselves or cleaners! There are 2 accessible toilets, bad as they are, but a number of concessions also have them e.g. TGI Fridays and the bar and all restaurants have toilets you can use even if you don't eat or drink there. Beware of the pub toilets. They are neither accessible nor clean. Trams in/out of the station are excellent but busy. Doors do not line up with tactiles as yet though since new style trams came into use. If being dropped off by taxi or private hire ask to be dropped near to the Metrolink platform entrance rather than in the car park. You can then access the station by lift far easier than trying to cross to the main lift in the station. Allow at least 45 minutes before your train is due to depart as there are always queues at the information desk if you need anything and at peak hours it can be difficult to progress through the station. If collecting tickets from a machine use the ones between WHS and Pret. They're the quietest. Ignore the awful waiting system someone, presumably, at Network Rail devised for the upper concourse for platforms 13/14. This tries to hold you on the concourse for the longest possible time and if you have access needs which will result in a slow journey to the platform then this is of course wholly inappropriate. Similarly the abolition of a sheltered waiting area on 13/14 will often leave you exposed to the elements and the recently devised nonsense of trying to hold people first behind a red line and then a yellow line is an absolute shambles. If you’re in a chair or have a sensory issue then these already busy platforms are an access nightmare.