A regular user of Berwick Railway Station who is disabled has claimed he and others have been “let down” by LNER due to the amount of time that the lifts have been unavailable.

Work to upgrade the lifts has been and is being carried out by LNER, with the renewal of the second lift currently on-going. A sign currently in place says there is no step free access covering a period until the end of February.

Road transport has been used to transport disabled people in the meantime, but the male station user has spoken with the Gazette to explain why he believes the overall situation is “unacceptable” and mentioned that there has been another delay to the planned end date.

LNER has issued a statement thanking customers for their patience and understanding in relation to the “much-needed work”.

placeholder image — Lifts at Berwick Railway Station.

The disabled passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The constant breakdowns with the lifts started in early 2023 and since then there have been multiple periods of weeks at a time where the lifts have been unavailable to use.

“The upgrade was started in September 2024 for 12 weeks (six weeks for each lift). And to be completed by December 1. They then announced in November that the first lift had been completed and the second hadn’t, but switched both on for the Christmas period and then as of January 5, 2025, it was to be off again for six weeks to upgrade the second lift fully.

“It should have been done for the 14th of February, but now it’s going to be at least March.

“Both lifts need to be working to access platform 1 and 2. LNER does provide a taxi service but, it takes much longer than the train and for some wheelchair users it can be uncomfortable travelling in a taxi/minibus – and if you’re travelling with friends/family you are split up as they make the others still travel by train.

“The lift upgrade was in need for sure, but LNER in my opinion has really let down disabled and people with mobility issues. Not to mention their staff needing to carry cases and luggage prams etc up two flights of stairs every day.

“A lift that has been unavailable for six months from the past 12 is unacceptable and at this point it’s degrading and humiliating. If it was the Newcastle station, it would have been fixed long before now.”

A spokesperson for LNER said: “We are committed to making rail travel as simple and accessible for our customers as we can, and the major renewal work to the lifts at Berwick-upon-Tweed station is a vital part of this.

"The much-needed work is being carried out by Stannah on behalf of Network Rail, with the mechanisms and control systems in both lifts being completely replaced – making step-free access far more reliable in the future for our customers.

“We understand the impact that this vital work has had and want to thank customers for their patience and understanding while the work continues.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the on-going reliability issues with the lifts at Berwick station.

“Teams are carrying out renewal work to improve the lifts’ long-term reliability as part of our commitment to providing accessible travel for all passengers.

“We appreciate the continued patience and understanding of passengers and local residents while we complete these essential improvements.”