I have this afternoon written to Tom Collins the Member of Parliament for Worcester regarding my work with the team at West Midlands Railway to improve the accessibility of the railway that they manage for those with disabilities and mobility issues.
My letter outlined that I first met with officials from the operator at Witton Lane station near Birmingham on the 28th of November 2023 where I was able to show those in attendance the challenges that I and others faced when using the rail network to get home from matches at Villa Park.
It was at this point where I suggested they consider trialling waiting spaces and signage on the platforms at the stations near to the stadium as this would give us somewhere to wait for our trains home on the congested platforms.
They (the operator) liked the idea and began working out how to implement it, 22 months later as you know there are 17 other stations with the new accessibility tools in the region and they are: Aston, Witton Lane, Coventry Arena, The Hawthorns, Kenilworth, Lye, Selly Oak, Telford Central, Shenstone, Blake Street, Gravelly Hill, Erdington, Chester Road, Four Oaks, Litchfield City, Wylde Green and Sutton Coldfield.
Do you travel by rail on a regular basis and require assistance to either board or disembark trains?, 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.
However you do have a legal right to just turn up and go without booking any assistance prior to travel.
If you enjoy reading my posts every week once they have been published then why not subscribe (if you haven’t already) and receive future ones direct to your inbox within just a few short minutes of publication.
Subscribe: https://just-being-cp.co.uk/
The team at West Midlands Railway have gone above and beyond in the last couple of years to ensure that rail passengers who have disabilities and mobility issues can travel with both ease and confidence across the region by rail. Your dedication and hard work to this project hasn’t gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated as always.
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 very much appreciated.
Cam
Leave a Reply