AFTER years of waiting, Worcester’s Shrub Hill railway station will finally get disabled access - with a £1.5 million project getting underway in August.

The station has secured funding from the Government’s Access for All Programme for two new all-purpose lifts which will be attached to the existing footbridge.

The announcement comes after decades of gripes from wheelchair users, who until now have had to be carried across the tracks to cross from one side to the other.

At the moment there is only a flight of dusty stairs, which also causes problems for passengers carrying heavy luggage.

Worcester MP Robin Walker has labelled the current situation “embarrassing” and says the revamp is long overdue.

He said: “This is not just a problem for those with disabilities but for anyone who finds it hard to climb stairs, including those struggling with heavy luggage.

“Many elderly constituents will have been put off using the station by the poor access to its second platform.

“It is unacceptable in this day and age that ‘barrow’ access across a railway line should be the only way for many people to reach a platform.

“I am delighted to hear there will now be significant Government investment to fix this problem once and for all and I congratulate ministers for prioritising investment in such an important issue.”

Disabled wheelchair user Dorothy Hammond, aged 61, of Carlisle Road, Ronkswood, said: “We don’t want to feel humiliated when we leave the house, we’ve got rights like everyone else.

“It’s about time this happened, it’s good news as it was a right effort to try and get over it before.”

The money is from the Department for Transport, and forms part of a plan to improve access at stations nationwide in a programme worth more than £137 million.

It dates back to 2006 and the projects will carry on until beyond 2015 at the current rate of progress.