Disabled access plan for station.

(Copied from the bbc.co.uk/news website)

Plans to upgrade facilities for disabled people at a railway station where a woman in a wheelchair was stranded have been unveiled.

Kathryn Nicholson, 51, had waited an hour before being carried from Rhyl station by paramedics. The lift was not working on the day and the station was unmanned at that time.

Denbighshire Council wants to conduct a £1.5m revamp of disabled facilities at both the train and bus stations and work could begin in January 2009. The plans are subject to approval and it is estimated the work could take up to nine months to complete.

The project, which is due before Denbighshire's planning committee in November, includes plans to improve access and increase disabled parking. New toilets, shelters and better night-time access and personal safety are also among the improvements planned.

Councillor David Thomas, cabinet lead member for regeneration, said: "Once completed, these works will give the people of Rhyl a fully modernised and integrated public transport system in the centre of town of which we can all be proud."

In August, Arriva Trains Wales apologised after Ms Nicholson, from Rhyl, was left stranded at the station for an hour-and-a-quarter. The station was not manned at the time but a remote system was supposed to have been in operation where passengers can ring the bell to request someone to activate the lift. This however also was not working on the day in question.

Ms Nicholson suffers from fibromyalgia, which she said is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, and was forced to call police for help. At the time, she said: "I felt every little bump as I was carried up the steps because of my back. It was jarring and was very painful. I was also very embarrassed."