There was no need for me to be put at risk when boarding a train from Birmingham New Street to Hereford at the end of May, after the incident I asked Jesse Norman the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South to write to Network Rail about the experience.
A senior official from the organisation has this afternoon responded to the concerns that I raised earlier this month by saying, that upon reflection they (Network Rail) believe that the staff member had sufficient time to collect ” the correct ramp”.
” The staff member retrieved an older model ramp but the class 196 unit operating the service required a newer two-step attachment ramp, which was located just on the opposite side of the same pillar”.
They added that ” unfortunately the wrong decision was made on this occasion , the use of an incompatible ramp did compromise the safety and confidence of those boarding we apologise unreservedly to Mr Wood”.
‘ As we outlined in our previously statement to ITV, we are sorry the wrong ramp was used to help Mr Wood board his train. There different ramps for different trains and on occasion, while working to get all passengers safely on board, we didnt use the correct one”.
” Our teams are trained on which ramps to use and when but, considering this incident we will refresh everyone’s awareness to help avoid similar instances in the future”.
” We don’t believe this to be a regular occurrence, during April 2023 to March 2024 68,040 passenger assists (booked and turn -up-and-go (TUAG) were requested at Birmingham New Street. The peak number of assists delivered in 2024 was 833 on the 27th of December”.
“As the busiest station outside of London , our staff are delivering excellent customer service to many customers and we believe this isolated incident isn’t reflective of how the station usually manages Passenger Assist”.
There was absolutely no need to my safety to be compromised and I hope that the assistance team learn from this shocking failure of judgment and it never happens again.
Do you travel by rail on a regular basis and require assistance to 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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