I travelled to Aston Villa vs Everton at Villa Park by rail on Sunday the 20th August 2023, following the match I returned to Witton Lane station which is a 5 to 10 minute walk or wheel away from the stadium.
Once on board the train back to New Street station in Birmingham I posted a video to X (former twitter) about the “shambolic” experience that I had at Witton after the match.
In the video I said, “I have just boarded a train back from Witton to Birmingham New Street following Aston Villa’s match with Everton at Villa Park , yet again the disabled supporters who are using the rail network to get to and from the ground are experiencing something that is shambolic from West Midlands Trains”.
I continued, ” More needs to be done by Jonny Wiseman (the operators Customer Experience Director) and his team to ensure we do not continually experience this, I will not be attending an Aston Villa match until it improves.”
The 28th of November that year saw me along with officials from West Midlands Railway travel to Witton Lane station near Birmingham so that I could share with them the experiences that and others faced when using the station on match-days.
Since January 2024 the operator has installed new accessibility tools at a number of railway stations they manage across the region which are: Aston, Witton Lane, Coventry Arena, The Hawthorns, Kenilworth, Lye, Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill, Telford Central, Selly Oak, Shenstone, Blake Street, Gravelly Hill, Erdington, Chester Road, Wylde Green, Four Oaks, Lichfield City and Sutton Coldfield.
Blue and white boxes which 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 situated on the platforms can be seen by passengers, station staff and train crew from either end of the platforms.
Tile Hill railway station near Coventry recently saw the spaces and signage installed on the platforms and is the first station on London Northwestern Railway’s network to have them.
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.
Using the App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/passenger-assistance/id1542190496.
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/
Thank you to the team at London Northwestern Railway/ West Midlands Railway for allowing me to work with you on this project I’ve loved every single second of it.
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 hasn’t gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated as always.
Cam
Leave a Reply