Monday, May 09, 2011

Ipswich railway station staff are great

A few days before leaving Suffolk I trundled up the hill to the railway station and tried to buy tickets for the new route to St Pancras via Stratford International, which would cut out going across London. The person in the ticket office was concerned that it might be difficult to get from Stratford to Stratford International, with the building works there. She very helpfully phoned Stratford to check: they said the area was not wheelchair-friendly. Ah well, maybe next time. For this trip I'd have to do the Liverpool Street to Kings Cross thing.

She started on calculation of which train would ensure arriving at the Eurostar terminal early enough for checking-in a wheelchair. By this time I was tired of shouting, because those desks are very high; she wasn't tall enough to lean over to speak to me, either. I asked why the lowered desk wasn't staffed. At first she was reluctant to tell me, but then she admitted that because of the location of the lowered desk near the sets of automatic doors, it was very draughty and often cold. I'd noticed that from the passenger-side. Poor and thoughtless station design.

She kindly moved over to the lowered desk for talking to me, though she still had to use the other terminal to book the ticket.

While waiting for the ticket, I chatted to a woman who had no problem talking to someone at the neighbouring high desk because her powered wheelchair had a seat hoist. Very nifty, and so useful. She was booking tickets for her first train journey since being in a wheelchair, to get to the Hardest Hit rally; she asked me about the accessibility of London buses (usually good, except when they are crowded).

I left the station with a ticket for the 6:44 train, and a warm glow from dealings with people who are helpful, efficient, and friendly.

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