TWO FLINTSHIRE train stations are set to benefit from a £300m UK government grant to improve disabled access in Welsh stations.

Shotton and Flint stations and their disabled users are two of the 73 UK stations in line to earn part of the grant.

Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani has announced that over the next five years journeys will be opened up across Britain as upgrades, including footbridges and lifts, make it easier for disabled people to travel on the UK’s rail network.

Several other stations will also see smaller scale improvements such as tactile paving on platform edges or adjustable ticket counters, to allow disabled passengers to travel with confidence.

The improvements at the two Flintshire stations will be funded as part of the Department for Transport’s Inclusive Transport Strategy, published last year. The funding will also benefit those with health conditions or older people with impairments, along with people travelling with children, heavy luggage or shopping.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said: “Inaccessible transport must be a thing of the past. That’s why the UK Government is investing in ten Welsh stations to ensure many more passengers feel able to get to their destinations independently.

“These improvements are in line with our commitment to build a bigger, better railway for Wales, delivering improved journeys for passengers on the most advanced new trains.”

Following nominations from the rail industry, stations were selected based on a range of criteria including footfall weighted by disability in the area, value for money, and local factors such as proximity to a hospital. The stations were also chosen to represent a fair geographical spread across the country.

The Access for All programme was first launched in 2006 and has delivered more than 200 accessible routes into selected stations so far.

A further 1,500 stations have received smaller scale improvements such as accessible toilets, platform humps to reduce stepping distances and improvements to help those with a visual or hearing impairment.

This is a step towards the target set out in the Inclusive Transport Strategy to create a transport system that offers equal access by 2030 and to make travel easier for disabled people. A genuinely inclusive transport system - including the design of all future transport technologies - is central to this Government’s mission to build a country that works for everyone and forms a crucial part of the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge which will put the UK at the forefront of transport innovation.