Campaigners outside Kentish Town Underground Station which is closed for escalator works

• BACK in July extensive correspondence was exchanged between various CNJ readers, including myself, about the alleged refusal of Transport for London to provide a lift at Kentish Town Underground station.

At that time I urged complainants to take a strong dose of reality but the message has evidently not sunk in.

Apart from the fact that TfL is spending large sums of money to replace the old escalators it beggars believe people like Mary Hynes (Kentish Town tube station needs a lift, September 28) allege they are being “discriminated against”.

How often does it need saying that where it is possible TfL are making provision for lifts but at Kentish Town the station layout and structure is such that it is not physically possible to insert one or two lifts there?

All efforts are being concentrated on finishing the escalator installation so that the station can be reopened.

It is ludicrous to think that installing a lift “with the opportunity provided by the year-long closure” can be done just like that!

Budgets and planning have to be allocated years ahead and there are many other places, for example West Hampstead, still waiting for their lifts planned and pressed for years ago.

Similarly there’s Camden Town station, which is dangerously overcrowded at weekends, with reconstruction planned I believe going back to Ken Livingstone’s time, but still waiting to happen.

It all comes back to finance and budgets, whoever you want to blame for that, but there is certainly no “discrimination” because there is now a legal requirement for all transport operators to make provision for disabled people wherever possible. “Wherever possible” is the critical issue, hence the Kentish Town problem.

JOHN STRATTON
Thurlow Road, NW3