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'It's like climbing half the Eiger': Help on the way for notorious Aberdeen stairs

Ken BanksNorth-east Scotland reporter
BBC Thirty-two steps leading up to a shopping centre, four people are on the stairs.BBC
The rear entrance to the shopping centre is 32 steps

For more than 40 years, train passengers arriving into Aberdeen looking for a shortcut into the city centre have faced a notoriously tiring 32-step climb.

But relief is finally a step closer thanks to plans to install escalators in the shopping centre between the railway station to Union Street.

The staircase has been a fixture in the city since the Trinity Centre opened in 1984 but there are now hopes the escalators could be in place in time for Christmas.

Students carrying luggage and families with buggies were among those embarking on the climb on Thursday - they unanimously welcomed the plan.

Even before they were approached by BBC Scotland News, many could be heard talking about the need for escalators.

Paige Jackson, a teenage girl, smiling at the camera at the top of stairs, she had dark hair and is wearing a light cropped top and a dark jacket.
Teenager Paige Jackson said the steps were exhausting

Student Paige Jackson, 19, said of the plans: "It would be better to have an escalator, so that would be really good.

"It's exhausting, especially with shopping. On a sunny day like this I am sweating."

Elaine Yule, 38, and Kim Postlethwaite, 39, were panting as they got to the top of the steps.

"Horrendous," was how Elaine described her climb, adding: "It's hard work".

Kim said: "Horrible, they are so steep. An escalator would be good, as it's quite a thought to come up them."

The rear entrance of the Trinity Centre is opposite the railway station, and leads through to the Granite City's main thoroughfare, Union Street.

People can opt to avoid the staircase and walk around the building to get to their destination - but it could add extra minutes to their journey.

The plans lodged with Aberdeen City Council propose installing escalators going up and down, while normal stairs will be retained on either side.

It is estimated that the plan will cost a six-figure sum.

A man and woman carrying a child in a pram down steps, with two other children with them.
This family welcomed the plans for escalators after carrying a pram down the steps

One couple had just negotiated their way down the steps with the three young children, including one in a buggy, after debating whether to go all the way round the building instead to avoid them.

"It's a good plan," Mark Deering, 33, said of the escalator project, after they all made it to the bottom.

Kenneth Wilkie, a man in a brown top and jacket, smiling at the camera, at the top of stairs
Kenneth Wilkie said the steps were good exercise

Kenneth Wilkie, 78, said the steps were a "good workout" to help people stay fit.

"It's like climbing half the Eiger (mountain in the Swiss Alps) or Bennachie (range of hills in Aberdeenshire)," he said.

"The trouble is, you get lazy. This to me helps your momentum of keeping fit."

He said he walked round a golf course three times a week, so enjoyed the extra climb into the Trinity Centre too.

"An escalator will be good for some people," he said. "It gives people the choice."

Colin Keillor, a man smiling at camera at top of stairs, he has a grey beard and glasses and is wearing a pink open-necked shirt on under a dark jacket.
Colin Keillor was passing through after arriving by train

Colin Keillor, 70, had arrived by train from Arbroath to see a show and was cutting through the shopping centre.

"It's too high," he laughed. "I am knackered - I am too old.

"I think an escalator is a great idea."

Taylor Gray, teenage girl with a pink suitcase
Taylor Gray said her grandmother struggled on the steps

Taylor Gray, 18, was armed with a suitcase and shopping as she faced the steps.

"It's alright for me," she said.

"But for my grandma it's hard to get up and down the stairs.

"She hates the stairs."

Joyce Keenan smiling at the camera at bottom of steps, she is wearing a blue padded jacket.
Joyce Keenan said the steps put her husband off the shopping centre

Joyce Keenan, 71, from Westhill, said she thought escalators would have been installed "years ago".

She said: "It puts my husband off coming here, as he had to stop the last time - when he got to the top he was absolutely done.

"It's good for your heart, it gives you a workout. You are not chatting as much at the top."

Kenny Bruce smiling at the camera, he is wearing a blue suit jacket and a patterned shirt, the words Trinity Centre are behind him on a sign.
Kenny Bruce said reaction to the plans had been positive

Meanwhile Trinity Centre manager Kenny Bruce said he used the steps every day himself.

"Aberdonians know the history of these steps," he explained.

"I have got used to it, it's part of my daily exercise.

"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive - and there will still be a normal stairwell there too.

"We are looking at how we can make the centre better - this is a key piece in the jigsaw."