Twickenham's MP and accessibilty campaigners have labelled delays for disabled access at Teddington train station a 'disgrace'.

The station was due to undergo Access for All improvements by 2019 but now a Government transport minister has confirmed the lift installation 'should be no later than March 2020'.

MP Sir Vince Cable contacted minister Paul Maynard via a parliamentary written question regarding the planned ‘Access for All’ upgrades being delayed by a year.

He is now calling for an urgent meeting with the minister.

Sir Vince said: “I would very much like to meet with Paul as a priority to seek some reassurance, to discuss the delay and its reasons as well as convey to him the concerns that are being relayed to me in some numbers by local constituents."

The project was announced as part of the 2014 Autumn Statement stating that Teddington would be one of the 26 stations across England to benefit from the Access for All funding, plugging in £60million to provide alternative accessible routes in the stations and between platforms.

Sir Vince added: “Teddington is a major local station and acts as an important interchange between a number of different routes, yet at present too many people are restricted in the journeys they can make.”

According to Network Rail, the Access for All scheme not only benefits disables people or those with reduced mobility, "but also people with children, heavy luggage or shopping and some more elderly people.”

A Network Rail spokesman added: “It is vital that disabled people and parents with prams and buggies can make full use of Teddington station.”

The Twickenham MP detailed in his letter to the Minister that the ‘widespread expectation in Teddington was that this was going to happen very soon’.

He said: “There are also accessibility issues at Hampton Wick and St Margaret’s stations - both have very steep stairs and absolutely no commitment to provide lifts until, if and when, Crossrail 2 comes which at the moment won’t be until 2030.

“This is unacceptable and I will raise these issues with the Minister as soon as possible”.

The former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills also extended an invitation to the Minister to visit the borough and those affected.

Alan Benson, Chair of Trustees for Transport for All, said: “The situation at Teddington Station is a disgrace - although both platforms have level access from the street, it is a ten minute walk between these entrances.

“As a wheelchair user and regular user of the station this makes changing platforms a practical impossibility - I regularly waste time waiting on one platform when, with a lift available, I could have caught an alternative train from the other.

“The Access for All fund has been repeatedly ram raided to cover the inadequacies of Network Rail and it is disabled people and the residents of Teddington who are suffering for this incompetence.”

In a statement, responding to the Minister's confirmation, the Lib Dem party leader announced that he and residents ‘are very disappointed with the delay but are now worried that there is no absolute commitment to even deliver an accessible station by March 2020’.

Catherine Smith, Campaigns Officer, Transport for All, said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to hear that access improvements at Teddington Station have been delayed - this is yet another blow for Disabled and older transport users after £50m worth of Network Rail access projects have already been delayed by up to five years.

“Disabled and older people rely on transport services to travel to work, school and social engagements just like everybody else, it’s shameful that many still can’t even access their local train station.”

A spokesperson for Network Rail, said: "We're fully committed to transforming Teddington station into a fully-accessible railway hub for all passengers by 2020.

“Owing to the listed status of the station building and the condition of the current footbridge, this is a complex scheme, but we're progressing two options to make the station fully-accessible and we'll continue to work with a range of parties to take this forward.”