Lifts on an 1884 footbridge, and a crossing that can shut for 22 minutes an hour
What happened
On Friday 30 October 2026, Network Rail announced more than £24 million of accessibility improvements at five stations in the west of England, on its Great Western route. The five stations, and what each gets, are as follows. **Weston-super-Mare** is getting two new lifts on its Grade II-listed footbridge, which opened in 1884. This will provide step-free access between platforms for the first time. Completion is due in autumn 2027. There is a community drop-in event on Wednesday 4 November, 4.30pm to 6.30pm, at the Front Room Theatre, BS23 1FF. **Lostwithiel**, on the Cornish Main Line, is getting a new permanent footbridge - the town's first since the 1960s - replacing a temporary bridge installed in 2024. It gives access to both platforms and an alternative to the Grenville Road level crossing, where barriers can close for up to 22 minutes an hour. Completion is due in summer 2027. **Castle Cary** is getting a new accessible footbridge and lifts. Work is expected to start after the 2027 Glastonbury Festival. No completion date was given. **Cheltenham** is getting a new lift on the northbound platform and a new accessible ramp on the southbound platform. The lift is due in spring 2028. **Torquay** is getting a 13-metre ramp linking platforms one and two via Hennapyn Road, a waiting room and accessible toilet on the northbound platform, and changes to accessible parking and drop-off areas. This is funded through the government's Access for All programme, and completion is due in spring 2027. Thomas Madgwick, lead portfolio manager for Network Rail's Great Western route, said: 'We're investing in stations right across the West to make the railway easier to use and accessible to more people.' Joe Graham, Business Assurance and Property Director for Great Western Railway, said: 'We want everyone to feel confident and comfortable using the railway.'
Why this matters
A station with steps and no lift is not a difficult station for some people. It is a closed station. If you use a wheelchair, and the only way between platforms is a footbridge with stairs, then half the trains at that station are not available to you. Not slower. Not harder. Not available. The same is true, in practice, for a lot of people who would never describe themselves as disabled: someone with a bad hip, someone recovering from surgery, a parent with a pushchair and a toddler, an older person with a suitcase. That is why 'step-free access between platforms for the first time' at Weston-super-Mare is a bigger sentence than it looks. For the first time, since 1884. The Lostwithiel detail is the one that will make most sense to anyone who has lived near a level crossing. Barriers that can close for up to 22 minutes in an hour means that, at busy times, more than a third of the hour is spent waiting on the wrong side. For a short walk into town that is maddening. If you have a bus to catch or a child to collect, it genuinely shapes your day. A footbridge gives people a way across that does not depend on the timetable. And the broader point: accessible stations make the railway usable by more people, which is the whole argument for public transport. A network that works only for the fit and unencumbered is not really a public network.
What the evidence actually says
A few things are worth being precise about. **The money.** The figure is 'more than £24 million' across the five stations, and Network Rail did not break it down station by station. So it is not possible to say how much each one receives. The only funding source named in the announcement is the government's Access for All programme, and it is named only in connection with Torquay. Other funding sources are not specified. **The dates are mostly 2027 and 2028.** Torquay is due spring 2027, Lostwithiel summer 2027, Weston-super-Mare autumn 2027, and Cheltenham's lift spring 2028. Castle Cary has no completion date, only a start after the 2027 Glastonbury Festival. So the earliest of these is well over a year away, and the latest is more than three years away. These are announcements of funded intent, not changes you will see this winter. The Castle Cary timing is a good example of why railway projects take so long. Castle Cary is the station that serves Glastonbury Festival, handling very large crowds for a few days a year. You cannot have scaffolding and a part-built footbridge in place for that, so the work waits until after the festival. Sensible, and slow. **Cheltenham's ramp has no date.** The lift is due spring 2028; no date was given for the ramp. Worth noting if you are planning around it. **Castle Cary and Cheltenham are explained by event traffic.** Network Rail says both will benefit because they handle large numbers of passengers for major events. That is a reasonable basis for prioritising, and it also means the benefit is not only for local residents. Finally, one thing the announcement does not claim: it does not say these five stations become fully accessible in every respect. Step-free access between platforms is a specific improvement. Other barriers - ticket machines, toilets, information, staffing hours - are separate questions.
Qurexa perspective
We will be brief and honest about the connection, because it is a modest one. Qurexa's work is healthcare logistics in Lincolnshire: delivering prescriptions and supporting people to take their medicines as intended. These five stations are nowhere near us. What connects them is the problem underneath. A great many of the people who cannot easily use a station with steps are the same people who cannot easily get to a pharmacy: someone breathless from a lung condition, someone with arthritis, someone recovering from a stroke, someone caring for a person who cannot be left. In our experience, the thing that stops people collecting their medicines is almost never a lack of willingness. It is distance, steps, stairs, waiting, and the weather. That is why we think announcements like this one are worth reading properly rather than skimming. 'Step-free access' is dry language for something that decides whether a person leaves the house. The practical point we would make to readers in our own area: if getting to a pharmacy is the barrier, say so out loud to your pharmacy or GP practice. Delivery, repeat prescription arrangements and medicine reviews exist precisely for this, and plenty of people who qualify for help have simply never mentioned that the journey is the problem.
Practical advice
If accessibility at stations affects you or someone you care for, here is what is useful now rather than in 2027. **Check station access before you travel, every time.** National Rail publishes station facilities and access information, including whether there is step-free access to each platform. A station being 'accessible' sometimes means one platform only, which matters enormously if your return journey uses the other one. **Book Passenger Assist.** Every train operator in Britain offers free assistance - help boarding, a ramp, someone to meet you. You can book in advance, and operators have reduced the notice period in recent years. It is the single most effective thing available, and it is underused. **Ask about alternative stations.** If your nearest station is inaccessible, a station one stop further along may have a lift. Sometimes operators will arrange assisted travel to a different station as part of the journey. **Go to the drop-in if you are local.** Weston-super-Mare's community drop-in event is on Wednesday 4 November, 4.30pm to 6.30pm, at the Front Room Theatre, BS23 1FF. These events are where local people get to point out the thing the plans missed, and that genuinely does change schemes. **Complain specifically if access fails.** 'The station is bad' is easy to ignore. 'On this date, at this station, the lift was out of service and no alternative was offered' is not. Operators report on accessibility performance, and specific complaints feed into it. **Remember the Access for All programme exists.** It is the government fund behind many station access projects. If your local station has steps and no lift, your councillor or MP can ask whether it has been put forward for it.
What to know
Network Rail announced on 30 October 2026 more than £24 million of accessibility work at five stations on its Great Western route. Weston-super-Mare gets two lifts on its 1884 Grade II-listed footbridge, giving step-free access between platforms for the first time, due autumn 2027. Lostwithiel gets a new permanent footbridge, its first since the 1960s, due summer 2027, offering an alternative to the Grenville Road level crossing where barriers can close for up to 22 minutes an hour. Castle Cary gets a new accessible footbridge and lifts, starting after the 2027 Glastonbury Festival with no completion date given. Cheltenham gets a lift on the northbound platform, due spring 2028, and a ramp on the southbound platform with no date given. Torquay gets a 13-metre ramp, a waiting room and accessible toilet, and parking changes, funded through Access for All and due spring 2027. The £24 million figure was not broken down by station, and Access for All was the only funding source named, in relation to Torquay only. The dates run from spring 2027 to spring 2028, so nothing changes this winter. In the meantime, the most useful tools are National Rail's station access information and booking free Passenger Assist with your train operator. A community drop-in event for the Weston-super-Mare scheme is on Wednesday 4 November 2026, 4.30pm to 6.30pm, at the Front Room Theatre, BS23 1FF. Sources: Network Rail Media Centre, 'Five stations in the west of England to benefit from more than £24m of accessibility improvements', 30 October 2026, https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/five-stations-in-the-west-of-england-to-benefit-from-more-than-gbp-24m-of-accessibility-improvements; Rail Business Daily, 'Network Rail to deliver more than £24m of accessibility improvements at five stations in West of England', October 2026, https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/network-rail-to-deliver-more-than-24m-of-accessibility-improvements-at-five-stations-in-west-of-england/; RailAdvent, 'Five West of England stations to receive funds for accessibility improvements', October 2026, https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2026/10/five-west-of-england-stations-to-receive-funds-for-accessibility-improvements.html This article is for general travel information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional about your own mobility or health needs.
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