Nothing could be more relevant to users of - and those who cannot make use of - Chinley station than a commitment by Government to improving the accessibility of the rail network.

The 'Roadmap to an accessible railway' is a long, detailed document (here) but one paragraph in particular (cited verbatim below) caught the eye of the author of this blog. It appears on p18 of the pdf (Download the very large pdf from the the DfT website)

"Reforming the Access for All Programme"

'To end the short-term, stop-start approach to accessibility improvements, we aim to transition to a rolling programme with a commitment of up to £70 million per year.

This sustained funding will enable more efficient long-term planning and delivery, providing greater certainty for the programme and the supply chain that supports it.

As part of the establishment of Great British Railways, we will also undertake a broader reform of the Access for All programme. This will be shaped through consultation with disabled people and local transport bodies, ensuring their voices directly influence how the programme develops in future'.

The Transport Select Committee's Call for Evidence on Joined- up Journeys 

Of recent very direct relevance to the above has been the Transport Committee’s Call for Evidence  on "Joined-up journeys: achieving and measuring transport integration"  which took submissions up to mid October 2025

The question they asked was:

What are the key features that make a transport system feel joined up to the user? How would ‘integrated’ transport look different to current services and networks?

You can read a personal repsonse to this consultation here :