The lifts at Hoogeveen station will be out of service until at least the end of July. Due to the shortage of microchips, installing new elevators is taking longer. To the frustration of the PvdA faction in Hoogeveen.
Passengers in wheelchairs coming out of the train on platform two cannot leave the station due to the lack of lifts. Conversely, disabled people who want to take the train cannot reach the platform. ‘You can call NS Customer Service and they will send a taxi, but that is of no use. After all, you are stuck on platform 2’, says PvdA party leader Stan van Eck.
‘The only option is to wait for the next train and then travel on to Meppel’, explains Van Eck of the problematic situation. ‘In Meppel you can take the train back to Groningen and then leave the train again in Hoogeveen, but this time on platform 1. From platform 1 you can finally leave Hoogeveen station.’
Affected
Travelers with a walker, pram or buggy are also affected by the lifts that have been shut down. According to the PvdA, the lifts were demolished before new lifts could be installed. Due to a worldwide shortage of microchips, that could probably take a while.
‘There is no guarantee that the printed circuit boards will be available by the end of July, but another two months without elevators is undesirable in any case. It is incomprehensible that NS and ProRail have allowed this situation to arise. We therefore want the Municipal Executive to take action’, says Van Eck, who hopes that the Municipal Executive will insist on the realization of a temporary solution by the NS and ProRail.