Government urged to improve 'embarrassing' station

A council has started a petition calling on the government and Network Rail to improve its "national embarrassment" of a railway station.

A full redevelopment of Luton station was announced by the Department for Transport in 2016, but the plans have been gradually scaled back since, said the council.

Work to install a new bridge and accessible lifts are due to start in December, but Luton Borough Council said this was not enough and "wider redevelopment" was needed.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it had worked with the council to improve access for all, but the authority's wider ambitions for station redevelopment were not part of the department's accessibility plans.

The council unanimously passed a motion urging Network Rail and the government to commit to a full redevelopment.

In the online petition, Labour councillor James Taylor wrote: "Luton Rail station is a disgrace. An eyesore and a national embarrassment.

"Almost four million passengers use Luton railway station every year and is the first horrible impression that visitors have of Luton."

Between 2006 and 2019 different governments have promised millions of pounds to improve station accessibility.

For much of this time there was an ambition to completely rebuild the station, partly financed through access funding, but it never materialised.

The council said a Luton Train Stations Delivery Group would be formed with stakeholders and Network Rail to formulate plans for a full redevelopment, which would report progress to full council every six months.

Network Rail told the BBC it understood "how important railway stations are as gateways to the towns" and in recent years work had been carried out to improve the canopies at Luton.

The DfT said: "Delivering a transport network that is accessible for all passengers is a priority for the government.

"We have clear ambitions for a transport network that works for all and have already worked quickly to put accessibility at the heart of our rail reforms, as well as continuing work to make hundreds of train stations step-free."

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