JustBeingCP

I recently wrote to the Minister for Rail after he refused to meet with me and discuss my successful rail accessibility campaign with West Midlands Trains (WMT), despite being asked to do so by my MP Jesse Norman.

When the Department for Transport refused to hear all about my work I was left feeling a sense of disappointment after all the government have spoken about is “Putting Passengers First” in recent months.

Jesse and his team raised the points that I wanted to make with the Minister, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE which I have set out below on the 27th of September.

1. West Midlands Trains (WMT) should be praised by the DFT for their work in implementing the signage at Witton Lane and Aston stations near Birmingham on my recommendation at a meeting in November 2023. 

2. Is the DFT working rail operators to ensure that things like disabled passengers having to crawl off trains because there booked assistance fails to turn up at the train when it arrives at your destination station doesn’t happen again.
3. Can the DFT remind rail operators of their responsibilities when it comes to passengers refusing to vacate the wheelchair seating areas on services or leaving their luggage within those areas.
4. There needs to be more staff training or awareness around the fact that not all passengers who have booked assisted travel at stations where it is operated by network rail, can independently move from lounges to the platforms – please can I ask that those stations are reminded of there responsibilities in this area.
5. Do the DFT know how many stations across England already have accessibility signage and how many currently do not?
6. Could the department write to all rail operators except WMT, reminding them of how vital accessibility signage is for those requiring assistance to travel by rail especially at unstaffed stations like Aston and Witton Lane in Birmingham.
7. I would be interested to know why it is seen as a postcode lottery when it comes to the level of assisted travel that we are offered – it should be the same level of service regardless of where you live and who the managing operator is.
8. Assisted Travel on the rail is currently not fit for purpose and I hope that this will change once the railways are brought back into public ownership. Can the department ensure that this is will be the case.
9. The accessibility project that I have been working on with WMT since November 2023 hasn’t been completed yet – what would happen to it once WMT are brought back into public ownership if it not completed before this happens.
10. The government talks about “putting passengers first” how are they doing this if they won’t even listen to the views of the people who rely on the rail network to stay independent.

This morning (Tuesday, November 5th 2024) I received a response from the Department for Transport and the Minister for Rail in relation to the issue of rail accessibility for those who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other aids which said:

Train station and rail operators such as Network Rail are required by their operating licenses to establish and comply with an accessible travel policy (ATP) that must be approved by the ORR (Office for Rail and Road). An accessible travel policy sets out, amongst other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services and to facilitate such use.

The ATP also commits operators to deliver enhanced disability training to all their frontline staff, course content and material must be developed in consultation with disabled people.

There are also a number of legal requirements that train operators must also adhere to regarding persons with disabilities and those with reduced mobility. These include the provision of wheelchair spaces, priority seating and passenger information/signage. These are quite detailed technical requirements and are set out in the “Persons of Reduced Mobility National Technical Specification Notice” (PRM-NTSN).

Passenger Assist is a crucial service to many passengers, providing them with the assistance they need to access the railway. Whilst OOR’s latest report has identified that satisfaction is generally high, there is more to be done to ensure that passengers always receive the assistance they have booked.

Every failure to provide assistance is one to many and we never underestimate the impact this has on passengers. Incidents like the awful failure at Kings Cross should not still be occurring in the rail industry. It is vital that the industry continues to work hard to improve this service to enable passengers to use it with confidence. I have made it clear to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) that it is vital that its next phase of planned improvements for Passenger Assistance are practical, effective and continue to improve the reliability of the service which is essential to so many users.

With regard to Mr Wood’s accessibility signage project with West Midlands Trains (WMT), I understand that the Aston and Witton projects have been completed and that WMT has rolled this project out to other stations. The WMT Accessibility team will be updating Mr Wood imminently on this further activity.

Ensuring accessibility for all is at the heart of our passenger-focussed approach, I want to improve accessibility on the railway. Delivering a more reliable and consistent customer experience for everyone with accessibility needs is an important step in achieving that ambition. I am confident that we agree on this and wish to see incidents such as the one at Kings Cross become a thing of the past.

The new arm’s length body, Great British Railways (GBR), will ensure the highest standards of customer service and operational performance. It will deliver a unified system that focuses on ensuring the railways are reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services; along with ensuring safety and accessibility.

Finally, we will be introducing legislation in this session to create GBR and are already working to deliver the necessary reforms to our railways.Thank you again for your correspondence and I hope that this response is helpful.

If you travel by rail on a regular basis and require assistance to board or disembark services, remember Assisted Travel can be booked in one of three ways up to 2 hours before travelling:

By Phone: 0800 024 8998 or by using Next Generation Text – 18001 0800 024 8998

Online: https://booking.passengerassistance.com.

On the App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/passenger-assistance/id1542190496.

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West Midlands Trains have gone above and beyond to make stations that they manage accessible to all, you are incredible and I will never forget what you have done for our community.

A massive thanks must also go to you, my loyal readers and followers who continually read my posts as soon as they are published, it doesn’t go unnoticed and is of course very much appreciated.

Cam