After reaction from rail users, South Western Railway has reinstated short-term parking bays at Gillingham Station.

The move followed criticism after all the station’s 20-minute temporary parking slots were removed overnight and replaced with a long row of disabled driver places.

Many rail users complained that the disabled bays were largely empty and unused while people picking up or dropping off passenger had no where to stop.

As a result, temporary bays have been re-introduced.

A spokesperson for South Western Railway said: ‘Making our stations accessible for everyone is a priority for us, but so is listening to our customers and we are now happy to have reinstated some drop-off bays at Gillingham station.’

The new bays are now in a different place, to the right of the entrance to the station.

Critics meanwhile point out that there are still only two temporary bays – fewer than before – and that the disabled bays remain largely unused.

‘It would probably have made more sense to have put the disabled bays where the temporary bays are, as that’s closer to the station and so easier to access,’ one regular user told this website. ‘And most of the disabled bays are empty all day.’

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