23 December (Part 2) - Stannah Lift excuses. Hanging by a thread
The
useless lifts at Abbey Wood station continue to cause chaos on a near
daily basis. Two out of three of them have been out of order since Sunday.
Passengers requiring a lift can access a train only if they live to the
North of the station and are going to Dartford. It has to be a one way ticket too
because if they return to Abbey Wood they won’t be able to leave the platform.
Those coming from the south and everyone heading towards London have no chance at all.
With the lifts on Platform 1 and the one nearest the booking hall out of
order there is nowhere for them to go.
At last week’s Liaison
Panel meeting it was said that Stannah had been told to
keep a complete set of parts at their Dartford depot so that their contracted
response time of one hour is something better than worthless paper.
It remains a worthless piece of paper.
Before long, when the Felixstowe Road access is blocked until December 2018, a
wheelchair user will have to double back to Sainsbury's and take the makeshift
footpath across the Harrow Manorway flyover as far as the Knee Hill
roundabout. Then retrace their steps (wheels?) at the lower level and maybe find the
station lift out of order. That will be 40 minutes of their lives wasted.
A hopeful sign. Two Stannah vans parked near the station this afternoon.
You may be interested to read what Crossrail had to say about this week’s lift situation…
Thank you for your email about the lifts at Abbey Wood
station and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused. Stannah
attended the site on 20/12 when the issue was reported and again on the 21/12 to
repair the fault. Upon investigation Stannah have informed us that the defects
are consistent with damage by users forcing the doors. The components required
to repair the damage have been ordered. Please be assured that this work has
been prioritised to get the lifts back in use as quickly as possible.
If vandalism or abuse is the reason for the breakdown presumably the lift attendants
weren’t in attendance at the time. And what happened to the promise to keep all the parts in stock?
The real problem is that these are not real lifts. They are glorified dumb waiters.
The slogan on one van says ‘From Cardiff to Cricklewood we keep homes and
businesses running smoothly’. There’s your problem. Since when has Abbey Wood
been on the Great Western Railway line? I doubt there is much call for lifts in the Irish Sea and the Bay of Biscay either.
Incidentally, it’s not just all
the lights on the east side of Harrow Manorway
which are out of order, there are at least three on the other side. No wonder it’s not easy to see.