Improvements are to be made to the accessible toilet at Middlesbrough railway station in North Yorkshire to make it suitable for the needs of people with a stoma.

Middlesbrough is one of one of the busiest stations on the TransPennine Express (TPE) network.

The improvements are in line with recommendations by Colostomy UK for it to be stoma-friendly and include:

• A shelf so that people can spread out their items easily and avoid the need to use unsanitary surfaces.
• More space in the cubicle.
• Hooks to hang clothing, handbags, and luggage while changing stoma bags.
• A back rest.

Over 200,000 people in the UK are fitted with a stoma after having a colostomy operation or as part of their treatment for a variety of conditions, including bowel cancer, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, and bowel incontinence.

Stomas require an opening to meet in a person’s abdomen to help divert one end of the colon into a pouch (a stoma bag) placed over it to collect faeces.

The upgrade at Middlesbrough is part of improvements being made at several TransPennine Express stations to provide better toilet facilities for customers. At Hull Paragon station, work has started on a £500,000 project to upgrade the toilets and add two extra cubicles to the women’s toilets and one to the men’s.

Also included in the improvements are improved toilets, sinks, new hand dryers, and flooring, and refurbishment of the accessible toilet.

While the work on the toilets at Middlesbrough railway station is in progress, temporary toilets will be provided just outside the station building next to the Royal Hotel, and an accessible toilet will be available inside the station next to Costa Coffee.

The building work will also see the waiting area temporarily relocated to the ticket hall.

Train operator Southeastern has recently made improvements at 71 stations to make them stoma-friendly
and Lancaster has recently become the sixth station on the West Coast Main Line to have a ‚Changing Places‘ toilet.

“We hope the improvements to the accessible toilet at Middlesbrough station will make travelling with TPE easier for customers with a stoma.
“We are working hard to ensure that our services, stations are accessible and inclusive for everyone.”

Chris Jeffery, TransPennine Express Accessibility & Transport Integration Manager