Farnham station’s level crossing reopened on Wednesday after a six-day closure forced one 80-year-old into a daily ordeal.

Network Rail has apologised for the length of time taken to repair the level crossing after a skip lorry hit its barrier on Friday, March 8 – with the availability of parts thought to be to blame.

After the initial disruption caused during last Friday’s morning rush-hour, the closure caused a build-up of traffic at Hickleys Corner throughout the week.

It also cut the town off for many residents living south of the station – with one 80-year-old forced on a daily odyssey into Farnham by the closure.

The grandmother, who asked not to be named, typically walks into Farnham a couple of times a week to shop at Sainsbury’s.

But unable to take her shopping trolley over the station footbridge, she was instead forced to carry a smaller amount of shopping bags to-and-fro her home in Waverley Lane each day.

With no Network Rail workers to call on, the elderly woman often had to wait for a South Western Railway worker, or a well-meaning member of the public, to help her cross the bridge.

She considered a lengthy detour via Alfred Road and Firgrove Hill to avoid the steps, but decided this was beyond her too.

She bemoaned Network Rail or South Western Railway for not considering the impact the bridge closure would have on older pedestrians, saying it was another sign of society’s contempt for the elderly.

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