To think this is unacceptable

[ProudAS]

www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/disabled-woman-stranded-by-locked-27004/

OK so it's not practical to have the lifts operational 24/7 but telling her they would be open when they were not!

Maybe the staff member who would have been on duty got suddenly taken ill but it ain't rocket science to work out that this could leave a disabled passenger stranded and put some alternative in place. For example, this lady could have alighted at a different station and been provided with a free taxi to her original one.

The comments about how if she lost weight she wouldn't be disabled are just the icing on the cake really...

These staff cuts are having a huge impact on how disabled people can travel. My husband had to go to Canterbury with his Guide Dog earlier this year to see his specialist there and I wasn't able to accompany him on that occasion. It turned out that the trains were seriously disrupted for some reason and his suddenly terminated at Faversham. There were no staff at all there- this was about 11am- and he ended up having to leave the station and walk around until he found someone who lived locally and could tell him where the bus stop was and which one to get to Canterbury. Annoying for anyone, but very frightening and stressful for someone who can barely see anything in a totally unfamiliar place. Someone who has to manoeuvre a wheelchair and hope there will be ramps and pavements (not a given in more rural Kent) or who found walking very painful would be equally upset.

I don't suppose the jobless staff are that happy about the situation either.

A rural unstaffed station near me has ramps. Best solution IMO especially as the area underneath them doubles as a shelter. Not sure how accessible it would be to other disabled individuals though.