Witton Lane station near Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa paved the way for the rail network to be more accessible near to event venues across the Midlands. Since January 2024 the team at West Midlands Trains have installed accessible waiting spaces and other types of signage at railway stations close to the CBS Arena and The Hawthorns.
This has meant that the disabled supporters of three of the biggest football clubs in our region can travel by rail to matches if they wish without the fear of running into issues. The spaces come in the form of blue and white boxes that also feature a white wheelchair logo and the words ” for mobility assistance please wait here”.
Assisted travel needs to improve across the entire system at both rail operator managed stations and ones that are managed by Network Rail. This morning (4th of June 2025) I wrote to Jesse Norman, the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire about the incident I experienced at Birmingham New Station last Thursday, the 29th of May 2025.
I have asked that as my MP, he holds officials from Network Rail to account with regards to what they promised after the wrong ramp was used when I was boarding one of West Midlands Trains’s 196 fleet. NR’s (Network Rail’s) Customer Assistant ended up holding the ramp in place with his foot because it wasn’t secure to the train.
As I mentioned in a previous post the organisation said in a statement given to ITV News Central after the incident that ” our teams are trained on which ramps to use and when, in light of this incident, we will refresh everyone’s awareness to help avoid similar instances in future”
WMT are planning install the waiting spaces at 9 other stations across the region after the success of them at the ones who currently have them.
My message to the team at Network Rail is a clear but simple one and is this, it is time for you to stand up and improve the service that you offer at mainline stations to those with disabilities and other mobility issues.
We rely on your assistance, to remain independent across the network!!!!
If you travel by rail on a regular basis and require some assistance to either board or disembark services, your assisted travel can be booked up to 2 hours before departure in 1 of 3 ways.
By Phone: 0800 024 8998 or by using Next Generation Text – 18001 0800 024 8998.
Online: https://booking.passengerassistance.com.
By using the App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/passenger-assistance/id1542190496.
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Cam
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