As I start to write this piece I am trying to hold back the emotions because Aston Villa has meant so much to me over the years as a supporter of our magnificent club, it is fair to say that I will miss being a massive part of the pride.
However it is now time to move on and the follow our club from afar for the 2024/25 season and beyond whilst I take some time out for myself and some other things, I wanted to sign off by thanking some people and acknowledging one thing that I am incredibly proud of.
I have travelled to and from Villa Park by rail for number of years which was something that I always found difficult to navigate as do other disabled people in my position on match-days in particularly post match once we are back at the station.
In February 2023 I decided to grab the bull by its horns and do something about a massive issue that affects a small minority of people, so I contacted the team at WMT (West Midlands Trains) to voice my concerns about the passenger assistance service that is offered by the operator on match-days at both Aston & Witton Lane station’s
A meeting was eventually arrange to take place at Witton Lane station with the operator after months waiting, Where I would have the opportunity to show those who have the power to make change across WMT’s network, what needed to change to improve our match-day experience on the network.
The operator agreed to trial accessible waiting areas and signage at both of the stations serving Villa Park and the local community to begin with and I am pleased to say that it proved to be a massive success, this led to the operator deciding that the signage would be beneficial at other unstaffed stations around the region.
Seven stations were identified as having high volumes of passenger assistance requests, meaning that the local residents living around the stations would get the most out of having the signage installed at there local station, those stations are:
- Northampton
- Coventry Arena
- The Hawthorns
- Telford
- Kenilworth
- University
- Tile Hill
Discussions are still ongoing at West Midlands Trains about whether the accessibility signage can be installed at the station after their health and safety team raised concerns about how narrow the platforms are.
Passengers using the waiting spaces on either platform could be put at risk when high speed trains are passing through the station because of how close they would be to the train.
Please can I remind all Villa supporters who use the rail network on match day’s of the following message that I first gave on the 25th of January this year, “please remember that the wheelchair users using the network to get home from matches will require access to the boxes on each of the platforms. They are there to ensure that we can be seen and accessed by the senior conductor once the train has arrived at the station”.
“The entire fanbase need to show a united front to ensure that all Aston Villa supporters using the rail network when attending matches regardless of their Disability, Gender, Age or Sexual Orientation have support that they require from staff during the duration of their journey’s to and from the stadium”
There is one person that I have to thank from Aston Villa for his incredible support from the first day of this journey to make our experience better when using public transport to get to and from the stadium and that is Anthony Richards, the clubs Disability Access Officer.
Anthony without your unwavering support in the last 18 months none of this would have been possible, I hope that once the lift has been fixed at Aston supporters will be able to use both stations with ease pre and post match.
“You are quite simply a legend there is no other word to describe what I and the other disabled supporters think of you”, however I will of course miss our chats.
If you are a football supporter of Villa or the away team who has a disability and uses the railway when attending fixtures, remember you can book assisted travel in a number of different way’s:
By Phone: 0800 024 8998 or by using Next Generation Text – 18001 0800 024 8998
Online: https://booking.passengerassistance.com.
App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/passenger-assistance/id1542190496.
Did you enjoy reading my second post in 24 hours about something that is very close to my heart? , if the answer is yes then why not subscribe and receive my posts direct to your inbox within minutes of publication:
Subscribe: https://just-being-cp.co.uk/.
A shout out must of course go to the incredible team at West Midlands Trains (WMT) who have acted fast so that my accessibility signage dream could become a reality, your dedication to this cause hasn’t gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
Thank you also to you, my readers and followers who take time out of there busy schedules on a weekly basis to read my latest post again it doesn’t go unnoticed and is of course very much appreciated.
Cam
Leave a Reply