Irish Rail wheelchair access

foggy_lad

i am still trying to think why irish rail spent thousands doing up the old ladies waiting room in Carlow station and putting in two toilets one of which is supposed to be wheelchair accessible and also a nice new waiting room just beside the ticket office but then decide to keep the only wheelchair accessible door to all these services closed and locked?

i know it is easy to say all the poor wheelchair user has to do is ring the station and announce their arrival but hey i thought accessibility meant they do not have to do this???

here is an email sent this mnorning to irish rail through their online query form but i dont expect any reply as i got no reply when i asked the questions before

i have noticed in Carlow station that recently there was a lot of money spent on making the station more wheelchair friendly by closing the old toilets and turning the old ladies waiting area into a waiting room and toilets including a wheelchair accessible toilet, the trouble is that the only way to enter this room and toilet area is by entering through the narrow ticket office door off the platform which has a large step and would be impossible for anyone in a wheelchair due to the size of the ticket office restricting turning the chair.

there is another door just inside the stations platform gate(entrance to station) which leads into the newly refurbished wheelchair accessible toilets and is wheelchair accessible but it is kept locked so that the only persons with free access to these facilities built for wheelchair access are able bodied persons!
can you let me know the reasons behind this poor decision to prevent wheelchair access to Carlow station waiting room and ticket office?

it seems very silly, stupid even to spend a lot of money on refurbishing and adding wheelchair accessible toilets and waiting area that are than kept locked to wheelchair users.

are your local station and its facilities wheelchair accesssible or have you noticed any station or facility built or designed for accessibility that is kept locked or out of use or that wheelchair users are prevented from using?

Cookie_Monster

Don't they have to do it by law now any time new building work is carried out or something. Like the way all old building have to have an ugly wheelchair ramp bolted over the stone steps to the door.

I presume in this example, its a case of look we have them now, but don't expect us to do anything about it in future.

foggy_lad

in Carlow the station buildings and ticket office cant be entered by someone in a wheelchair due to a large step, the door with no step which enters into the new waiting area with accessible toilet is kept locked and bolted like it was never to be opened again:D it really does beggar beleif that they are so incompetant as to let this carry on!

there is also NO way across the tracks as irish rail have stopped alowing the use of the barrow crossing so if you are in a wheelchair you must ring the day before to arrange for your train to stop at the right platform or they will get you a taxi to athy to board the train!

Cookie_Monster

foggy_lad wrote: »

there is also NO way across the tracks as irish rail have stopped alowing the use of the barrow crossing so if you are in a wheelchair you must ring the day before to arrange for your train to stop at the right platform or they will get you a taxi to athy to board the train!

:eek: just :eek:

Victor

Do I get the impression this room bypasses the ticket barriers or are there ticket barriers at all?

I was in City Hall in Dublin last week. The wheelchair-acessible entrance was locked, but they had a security gaurd on duty inside to open it when someone rang the bell. :rolleyes:

foggy_lad

Nope we have no barriers in carlow just the station gate and this locked door a few feet inside. Afaik it is kept locked to stop kids from the nearby schools and junkies from using the toilets.

I am sure it would be opened for a wheelchair user if someone went into the ticket office to let staff know but this is not acceptable as disabled peope should not have to rely on such good Samaritans to get into the station!

foggy_lad

Irish rail have finished their most recent major refurbishment in Carlow station and have put in a lovely new ticket desk with a lower level desk for wheelchair users who sadly now have even less access because the outer door which they could once use(if unlocked) has now been changed to allow use from inside only!!

The only access to the station building now for wheelchair users is through the main ticket office door up an awkward step. So wheelchair users must ring in advance to arrange access to this new station!