Victory in station access battle

A railway station now has disabled access to its southbound platform after a 10-year-long campaign.

A £1.2m footbridge improvement has officially been opened in Lockerbie by Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.

Disabled passengers arriving from the north previously had to travel on to Carlisle and then catch a return train from south of the border. Local campaigners described the official opening of the accessible footbridge as a "great achievement". The new facility provides a lift at either side of the bridge to enable disabled passengers to cross to the southbound platform.

Previously, it was only accessible via a large number of steps on both sides. That meant disabled passengers from Glasgow and Edinburgh had to travel past the station to Carlisle before returning north. It added about 60 miles and a significant amount of time to any journey.

In addition, access to southbound trains from the station was impossible. There have been a number of "false dawns" for the decade-long campaign.

However, Wyn Deamer of the local Coalition of Disabled People said it had been worth the wait. "There was a lot of frustration with comings and goings," she said. "But I think that will all be forgotten now that we have actually achieved what we set out for. It will help absolutely everybody."

The new facility was also welcomed by Conservative MP David Mundell. He said that he had always been concerned that the lack of disabled access might lead to the closure of the station. "This project actually secures the long-term future of Lockerbie station," he said.