A Lanarkshire train station will be made disabled-friendly after calls from a local MP.
Work is set to commence as early as the first half of next year at Carstairs railway station.
It's a location used by many locals across the Clydesdale region who have complained that it needs better disabled access.
The station operates two lines with a bridge linking the two sides of the platforms, but residents need to use steps to access the bridge.
However improvements are now on the cards at Carstairs railway station, after the issue was taken up Clydesdale MP David Mundell who later wrote to the UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper.
Mr Mundell has been pressing for action to improve disabled access at local railway stations, and in particular for measures to be taken to provide step-free access to Carstairs station.
He is glad to see that the improvements will now be carried out as part of a wider railway line development project..
It's expected to be completed by summer 2023.
Welcoming the news the local MP told Lanarkshire Live : “Many of my constituents in rural Clydesdale make regular use of Carstairs station and the problem of a lack of proper disabled access to it has been regularly raised with me.
“Obviously it is completely wrong that disabled passengers should have less direct access to public transport such as railway stations than other people and, along with others locally, I have been lobbying for action to address this.
“Having most recently taken the issue up with the Secretary of State for Transport, I was pleased to get confirmation from him this week that accessibility improvements at Carstairs station will be delivered as part of a wider line speed improvement project, with completion expected by summer 2023.
“I’m looking forward to getting further detail of this improvement work and hope that, when it is complete, it will make a big difference to disabled rail passengers in rural Clydesdale.”
In response to Mr Mundell's calls for better disabled access at Carstairs station, the Transport Secretary said he "sympathised" with the struggles locals have faced with poor access.
He advised more details on the improvement project will be delivered in due course.
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