Rail passenger Dr Richard Etheridge calls for improvements at Marsden station

Apr 16 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A PETITION has been launched to bring a railway station up to scratch – after a woman suffered a nasty accident there.

Retired university lecturer Dr Richard Etheridge is calling for Marsden railway station to be brought up to modern standards.

His plea to rail bosses comes after his wife Pam fell while descending the steps at the station to catch the train for a day trip to York last November.

Her shoe caught on the jagged diamond shaped design and she was thrown forward down the steps.

Her fall left her incapacitated for three months and having to undergo painful physiotherapy after she suffered a fractured shoulder and severe damage to her muscles and tendons.

Dr Etheridge, of Boat Lane, Marsden, said the fall prompted him to launch his campaign for safer access at the station.

He is particularly concerned about the ‘dangerous’ staircases to platforms one and two from the road bridge.

Dr Etheridge said: “This access is dangerous for the disabled, the elderly and parents with pushchairs. It does not meet today’s standards.

“As people have heard about this accident they have all agreed that the access to the station is substandard.

“Indeed, many have said they do not use the station themselves because of the dangerous conditions.”

Dr Etheridge, formerly Dean of Information and Engineering Systems at Leeds Metropolitan University, has complained to Metro and station manager Northern Rail, but says they have failed to take action.