EWR is gaining suggestions from individuals with lived expertise of disabilities to tell station designs, aiming to assist construct a contemporary, accessible railway that works for everybody.
Members of East West Railway Firm’s Accessibility Advisory Panel (AAP) are serving to to futureproof the inclusive design of stations alongside a brand new railway between Oxford and Cambridge.
The panel visited stations nonetheless to be constructed or remodelled alongside the proposed path to assess amenities for disabled passengers.
Members of the panel, who’ve numerous disabilities, visited Bedford, Bletchley, and Bicester Village stations to supply suggestions on points resembling structure, signage, navigation and the general passenger expertise. The visits highlighted each accessibility challenges and examples of amenities which are already assembly disabled individuals’s wants.
c: EWR Co
Obstacles to journey don’t come from impairments, they arrive from poor design, processes and attitudes,” commented Co-Chair of EWR Co’s Accessibility Advisory Panel, and impartial inclusive transport advisor, Mary Doyle.
“We have now a as soon as in a era alternative and obligation to construct a railway that can final for 200 years which actually consists of everybody, proper from the beginning.”
The Accessibility Advisory Panel was established to make sure the voices of disabled passengers are central to the design technique of the railway. Made up of 12 native residents from throughout the route, the panel is considered the primary of its type contemplating inclusive design points on the outset of constructing a brand new railway.
East West Rail highlights these visits as a mirrored image of the corporate’s dedication to designing a railway that’s inclusive for all.
c: EWR Co
“We should get it proper now by an inclusive design tradition and make it versatile sufficient for all people who find themselves disabled, neurodivergent or older to allow them to journey with confidence, consistency and dignity. East West Rail are aiming to be the accessibility gold commonplace and produce pleasure again to rail,” Doyle added.
Members of EWR Co’s architectural and design groups, together with representatives from EWR principal designer MWJV – a three way partnership between WSP and Mott MacDonald – joined the station visits. Their participation allowed them to interact instantly with the panel members’ lived experiences and collect significant, first-hand insights.
c: EWR Co
Laura Lewis, Human Components and Inclusive Design Lead for EWR, said: “It was highly effective having our design staff on-site with us. Seeing the impression of designs first-hand ought to allow them to place themselves within the sneakers of disabled individuals and to develop extra accessible options.”
The station visits construct on earlier work by the AAP after it created a listing of precedence points for disabled rail passengers.
