It is a well-known fact that the accessibility of Strijp-S railway station leaves much to be desired. And it will probably remain that way for the time being. This is what the Eindhoven City Council says in response to questions from the Eindhoven Elderly Appeal (OAE) political party.
Climbing the stairs of the train station at Beukenlaan is a daunting task for people who have difficulty walking, as the Elderly Appèl previously noted. ‘Strijp-S station is an inaccessible station for you, even though it is right outside your door, so to speak. This is not something that happened yesterday or today, but already was the case when this station opened many years ago’, OAE wrote.
The party also questioned on why a promise had already been made in 2017 to improve the accessibility of the station and nothing happened so far. Moreover, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management had already made funds available for the necessary interventions.
Permit rejected
When ProRail applied for the permit to install lifts at the railway station, the application was rejected, according to the municipality. This was due to the complex traffic situation around the station, and the plans did not comply with ProRail’s own guidelines.
This happened in 2017 and 2018. The rail network manager then decided to focus first on stations that could easily be made more accessible. In 2019, the municipality agreed with ProRail to jointly investigate a good solution for the issue.
Research
Another year later, design sessions were organised for an accessible Strijp-S train station. These involved the municipality, ProRail and NS. They also looked at the surrounding traffic situation, including the connection between Achtseweg and the ring road. The college reports that the sessions resulted in two designs that can be realised in the short term.
More clarity in the summer
Both parties prefer to work out the variant in which the lifts are connected to the stairs. The design is expected to be ready by the end of May. In the summer, the municipal executive hopes to be able to inform the municipal council about how the situation will be resolved.
However, the council does state that the implementation of the renovations around Strijp-S station depends on the financial resources that the government is prepared to make available. The money that was initially made available for the renovation of the station is not sufficient.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
