Being a wheelchair using Aston Villa supporter hasn’t always been easy until this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in recent years I have travelled to matches at Villa Park in Birmingham by rail as often as possible.
This experience was always a challenge until around 22 months ago when West Midlands Railway installed waiting spaces and signage at the stations surrounding the home of the claret and blue side.
Blue and white boxes that feature a white wheelchair logo and the words ” for mobility assistance, please wait here” along with signage mirroring the same messaging positioned near to where the spaces are can now be found on the platforms.
Football supporters will disabilities or mobility challenges can now travel with ease to and from the stadium thanks to these accessibility tools, which has dramatically improved our matchday experience in recent seasons.
These tools have also been introduced at Coventry Arena and The Hawthorns railway stations near to the homes of Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion, meaning that thousands of football supporters in the midlands region could benefit from the provision.
However there have been difficulties along the way when travelling by rail to matches, namely the experience that I had following England’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Birmingham earlier this year. If you would like to read more about that experience it can be found here: https://just-being-cp.co.uk/2025/09/25/tonight-i-returned-to-witton-lane-station-near-birmingham-a-few-weeks-after-my-horrible-experience-at-the-station-following-england-vs-andorra-at-villa-park/
I will continue working with the operator to support the improvement of the experience for those who require assistance to board or disembark trains at the stations they are responsible for across the network in the future.
At this point I would like to thank all those who have supported our community to get home safely after matches in B6 and this does include the supporters of all the other 19 premier sides who have visited Birmingham either this or last season.
If you require assistance to board or disembark trains across the rail network, 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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Wishing all those celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities well and I hope that they currently feel accepted by others especially when attending football matches and other live sport.
A thank you must also go to you my loyal readers and social media followers who continually take the time out of your busy schedules to read my latest posts, it doesn’t go unnoticed and is as always very much appreciated.
Cam
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