A DISGRUNTLED wheelchair user has raised the issue of accessibility at two of Warrington's train stations writes Neil Docking.

Mr Sharratt, of Chaffinch Close, Oakwood, has complained to First TransPennine Express about the standard of provision for disabled users at Birchwood Station and Warrington Central.

At present the two stations only have ramp access from one platform, towards Manchester.

Mr Sharratt said: "To catch a train from Birchwood to Warrington Central, I would have to go up to Manchester, catch a service down to Liverpool and then back to Warrington Central. It is ridiculous."

Mr Sharratt, a former Birchwood Residents' Association chairman, first complained about this problem in 1998.

Rail staff suggested that when returning from Manchester he should catch the train to Warrington Bank Quay station, but this would still leave him with another journey to make back to Birchwood.

The pensioner's anger was heightened when he read that First TransPennine Express were undertaking a £12m modernisation and improvement programme that did not include any plans to make better provision for disabled customers.

He said: "The plans don't include any of the necessary changes. Not just for wheelchair users but for mothers with prams or elderly people who struggle to use steps. That's not modernisation."

A spokesman for TransPennine Express said: "Mr Sharratt is correct in that there is a noted problem with access.

"Under the improvement plans we were asked by the strategic rail authority to invest in safety and security and passenger information.

"This issue is beyond the remit of our franchise in terms of scale and affordability."