Disabled woman stuck at station

Kathryn Nicholson said she felt embarrassed by the ordeal.

A disabled woman had to wait an hour and a quarter to get out of a train station as the lift was not working and staff appeared to have gone home.

Kathryn Nicholson, who is in a wheelchair and has spinal problems, could not get out of Rhyl station in Denbighshire after getting off a train.

The 51-year-old from Rhyl spent 45 minutes pressing a help buzzer. Paramedics spent 30 minutes carrying her out, up nearly 50 steps.

Arriva Trains Wales is investigating.

She said: "I felt every little bump as I was carried up the steps because of my back. It was jarring and was very painful. I was also very embarrassed."

Ms Nicholson and her partner Derek Chipchase, 44, had booked the train from Manchester after visiting her father there.

She said, as she is disabled, staff in Rhyl should have been notified of her arrival to help her get off the train.

I was freezing and I was getting more and more stressed and panicking because I needed to have morphine for my back Kathryn Nicholson

But when she arrived on Sunday at 1915 BST, there was nobody there to greet her and a female train conductor had to help her instead.

The couple then tried to get the lift out of the station - but found it was not working.

"There was nothing, it was as dead as a dodo," said Ms Nicholson, who has fibromyalgia, which she said is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, and has recently had spinal surgery.

"I pressed the button next to it for help, but had no answer. I kept pressing it for 45 minutes until a man answered it.

"He said he was in the main Cardiff control room and that the lift was not working. There was no sign or notice on the lift though and it looked like all the staff in the station had gone home.

"In the meantime I had called the police, who then put me through to the railway police [British Transport Police].

Paramedics were eventually called to Rhyl Railway Station

"My partner had also run up the steps and over to the other side of the platform to ask a train driver there if he could help and he rang the main rail control.

"By this point I was freezing and I was getting more and more stressed and panicking because I needed to have morphine for my back.

"Finally there were sirens and an ambulance came. I was put in a metal chair and two paramedics - a man and a woman - had to struggle to carry me up 45 to 50 steps, with my partner struggling to carry my wheelchair and luggage.

"It took them a good half an hour and it wasn't easy because I weigh 12 stone."

She is now demanding the station takes action to prevent other people going through the same ordeal.

"I'm thinking about other people. Say you had someone in an electric chair - there's no way someone could lift that," she said.

"And what about people on their own?

Arriva Trains Wales head of stations, Peter Northcott said: "First of all we would like to apologise to the disabled customer and carer for the inconvenience and distress this caused them.

"We are already investigating this incident as a matter or urgency."

The station was not manned at the time but a remote system was supposed to have been in operation where passengers can ring the bell to request someone to activate the lift.

This however also was not working on the day in question.