The Chancellor has confirmed that Walkden will be one of the 12 stations to share a pot of £50 million to provide step-free access. This comes after years of campaigning by the Friends of Walkden Station and Walkden’s Labour councillors.

Despite being at the top of Transport for Greater Manchester’s list of stations which needed funding to become accessible, Walkden has been repeatedly overlooked when the Government have allocated ‘Access for All’ funding in the past. The provision of funding now is a recognition of the importance of step-free access at Walkden – as there are no other step-free stations for some distance – to people across Worsley and Eccles South.

Barbara said:

“I’m delighted that Walkden has finally been given funding to provide step-free access. The 48 steps to the platform at Walkden make the station unusable for people in wheelchairs, those with other mobility impairments and people with prams or pushchairs. Now that the Government has finally recognised that this is a problem, I hope work can begin soon to make Walkden station accessible.

“I want to pay tribute to the Friends of Walkden Station and the local Labour councillors for their dedicated lobbying on this topic. This led to Transport for Greater Manchester making Walkden their first priority for accessibility funding, and now to Walkden receiving funds to become step-free.”