People living in Dinas Powys say they are put off from using public transport because they can’t access their local train station.

A campaign has been launched to have lifts installed at Eastbrook railway station, with many parents, older people and those with disabilities saying they are unable to cross from one platform to the other using the overpass which is currently in place.

Passengers can walk around the station to the other platform but this is a distance of nearly a mile, which some residents said is too much for them on foot.

Network Rail, which owns the station, applied for funding from the UK Government’s Department for Transport (DfT) to improve accessibility at Eastbrook - but it missed out.

“I have had two hip replacements, I need two knee replacements, so if I needed to go to Barry, and when I do at the moment, I take a car because to use the train it means I would have to negotiate that bridge,” said Sean Carson.

The 81 year-old, who also suffers from severe arthritis, added: "I am sure I can speak for every senior citizen in this vicinity – they will have the same problem."

“They keep on about people needing to use public transport, but people are not using public transport…that’s one of the reasons and the other reason is it is too easy to jump in a car because they can’t rely on buses or trains in a regular pattern.”

Childminder Lauren Davies has lived in Dinas Powys all of her life. She acknowledged Eastbrook station has a ramp for buggies and wheelchairs, but added the walk around the station from one platform to the other can take about 20 minutes.

She said: “It is also…along Cardiff Road which is full of traffic, so exhaust fumes, noise. It is not the most pleasant of walks. It [the traffic] didn’t used to be this bad growing up.”

Lauren said she would like to be able to take her child and the children she looks after on days out using the train and having lifts installed at the station would make a “huge difference”.

“It is just having that accessible route, not just for me as a mum and childminder,” she added.

“It would be accessible for the elderly, it would be accessible for disabled and generally anyone who doesn’t want to climb all of the steps. It is like climbing the Eiffel Tower sometimes.”

Kay Shaw, who has lived in Dinas Powys for 50 years, said she often has to travel back and forth between Southampton.

“I can get on the train going to Southampton from Eastbrook,” said Kay.

“But when I come back, because I cannot lift my suitcase over the stairs…I have to get off the train at Cardiff and ask one of my sons to come and pick me up and they are both working so it makes it really awkward, but that is the only way I can travel on the train."

“I can’t come back to Eastbrook station and to go onto Dinas Powys station, it is too long a walk for me to come back right up to here.”

In May 2024, the DFT announced 50 railways stations had succeeded in applications for Access for All accessibility funding - but this did not include Eastbrook.

Stations are chosen based on a range of criteria, including annual footfall, rail industry priorities, availability of third-party funding, local factors, geographical location and support of the local MP.

Some residents and local councillors argued the services in Dinas Powys are not adequate to support an expected future growth in population.

In the early stages of developing its replacement local development plan, Vale Council listed five sites which could be earmarked for housing in the future.

One of these includes land to the north of the town, which was listed as having the potential to deliver 250 new homes.

Dinas Powys Community Council member, Cllr Malcolm Phillips, has claimed the lack of accessibility at Eastbrook station amounts to discrimination.

Referencing a response from DfT to a letter sent by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales last year about Eastbrook station, he said: “The letter states that Eastbrook was not considered."

“50 stations in England were granted potential funding and four in Wales, yet when we then questioned which four stations in Wales were listed, it was Neath, Shotton, Ruabon and Whitchurch in Shropshire."

“How can they class a station in England as [part of] four which are funded in Wales? It seems to us not fair.”

Network Rail said it recognises there are accessibility issues at some of its stations, including Eastbrook and it has met Cllr Phillips to discuss his concerns. However, it added the final funding decision ultimately rests with DfT.

A DfT spokesperson said: “The UK Government is committed to improving the accessibility of Britain’s railways, and recognises the valuable social and economic benefits of this for communities.”

Cllr Phillips added: “The other issue is that many more people now are finding it difficult, particularly the elderly, people with push chairs…and mobility scooters – they are discriminated because they can’t use the train service from here.”

“Along these line, some of the other stations that have been funded for lifts have got them and that’s Cadoxton and Barry. We are wondering why is Eastbrook being left out each time.”

Cllr Phillips said a petition will soon be launched on the issue.

Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales Central, Heledd Fychan has also called for improvements to be made at Eastbrook.

Ms Fychan said: “I fully support the campaign. I raised in the Senedd this week…the need for all public transport to be accessible for everyone. We have got an example here where there is an issue with the station.”

“People would like to be able to use it, but if they have got any kind of accessibility issues, they can’t because there is no way to cross safely.”

“If we are going to be investing in public transport, trains, buses, wanting people to use them, then it means we have to invest to make sure that everyone can access them, not just a few people.”

Ms Fychan said she will raise the matter of accessibility at Eastbrook with the Welsh Government’s cabinet secretary for transport, Ken Skates, and ask him to visit the station, “see the problems for himself” and ask how he can ensure that improvements are made.

She said she will also be contacting Transport for Wales to see what plans it has to ensure stations along its routes are accessible.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Network Rail is funded in five-year periods to maintain and operate the majority of the railway infrastructure in Britain.”

“The Access for All scheme is funded separately by the DfT as a funding stream for areas around the UK to improve accessibility at rail stations.”

“It’s one of the biggest improvement areas we currently have as an industry, as accessibility is an issue for many of our passengers.”

“We are trying to make journeys easier for customers by having access for everyone, including passengers with heavy luggage, prams, bicycles, and other mobility issues.”