New Changing Places toilet to make rail travel more accessible in Greater Manchester
A new Changing Places toilet has opened at one of Northern’s Greater Manchester stations.
Designed by Seed Architects, the new toilet at Broadbottom has been designed to cater to the needs of all customers, with baby changing facilities, grab rails and an audio description for customers with visual impairments.
It has been finished with cladding in sandstone and dark grey roof tile to match the existing historical station building.
Customers can access the toilet via a radar key, a train ticket QR code, or video access linked directly to Northern’s 24-hour customer contact centre.
To ensure maximum safety, the new toilet also features user-activated multiple distress cords and low-level panic buttons.
The new toilet is one of 83 fully accessible toilets set to be installed at railway stations across Greater Manchester.
Seed Architects and accessibility groups have offered their expertise and guidance to ensure all needs are being met. The scheme is funded by Transport for Greater Manchester.
Craig Harrop, regional director at Northern said: “We are delighted to have worked with Transport for Greater Manchester and our other partners to introduce this new accessible toilet facility at Broadbottom.
“It’s packed full of innovations, safety measures and technology that will cater to the needs of all our customers”.
The multi-million-pound investment will support the refurbishment of some existing toilets, the introduction of new facilities within station buildings or the installation of stand-alone toilet pods.
Simon Elliott, TfGM’s head of rail said: “The opening of these state-of-the-art facilities at Broadbottom marks the latest step forward in making our rail stations across Greater Manchester more accessible.
“A major focus of the Bee Network is making public transport fully accessible, and by providing these facilities we want to encourage more people to choose public transport as a way of getting around the region.
“However, with more than half of Greater Manchester’s railway station still not fully accessible, we recognise that much more work needs to be done to improve this offer, and we will continue working with operators and industry partners to make rail and other modes of public transport accessible to all.”
In November 2023, healthcare equipment provider Innova Care Concepts announced that it had installed a Changing Place toilet facility in the National Portrait Gallery in London designed specifically to cater to the needs of individuals with severe disabilities.
