Making railways more accessible (Fixing rail: Part 5)
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- čas přidán 7. 12. 2023
- Britain's railways fail, for the most part, at providing a service accessible to everyone. However, things could be a lot better, and in this video I try and outline how.
Discord: / discord
Credits:
[1]: www.nationalrail.co.uk/help-a...
[2}:
www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/...
Music:
Forest Find - TrackTribe
Photography/Imagery (in order of appearance, with a general description of the image. If not listed here, the source of images is either obvious or one of my own):
GWR route map
www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/...
CAPAY at nl.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
John Thomas (1838-1905), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Lineside view of Horton in Ribblesdale Station by Stephen Armstrong, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Haverthwaite railway station footbridge by Jaggery, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Bridleway level crossing on King's Mill Lane by JThomas, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Vera de Kok (NS Sprinter), CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
WMR step - West Midlands Rail Executive(?)
National Rail (Passenger Assist page)
Put the Crippled Kid up Front (ramp being deployed on 377)
Doug Paulley (LNER video)
CrossCountry Trains (Voyager luggage space)
Rail Ombudsman
National Rail
(luggage ticket) U.S. National Archives and Records Administration / U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
(light thing on an AM96) SNCB/NMBS
(MTR platform staff) CHOADAICHONG MinuddR, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
(ERTMS Trained personell) Network Rail Wales
(BSL poster) Lucy Southwell, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
SBB app - SBB (obviously)
Bikes for Hire, Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 by Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
(EV Chargers) Gregory Varnum, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
(Elizabeth Line platforms) James Petts from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Nigel Thompson / Sugar Loaf Halt railway station, Powys
(Level boarding with legs) Atomic Taco from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
(Barcelona Metro Level boarding "hump") Eric Fischer, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
(FLIRT at Cambridge and FLIRT at Dullingham) kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
(FLIRT ramp) Geoff Marshall
New footbridge at Canterbury West station by Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Julie Berry
It's very difficult travelling on trains as a disabled person, especially when you rely on passenger assistance that rarely works, even when booked hours ahead. I use a mobility scooter and have faced issues where staff don't turn up when the trains pull in, where ramps on trains have been missing, luggage in the wheelchair spaces and lifts not working!
I imagine it can be real pain.
@GWVillager this was a very well put together and incredibly informative video. So glad that you are raising such an important subject on rail accessibility. Thank you!
@@GWVillager Rent a wheelchair and try assistance before being negative. Just give them 3 days they have more chance of getting staff for you.
My word that must be like Hell. Here’s hope for a more accessible Britain one day whenever anyone’s bothered to do something one day 🤞
@CCA2020 it's as much down to the passengers as much as the train operating companies! More luggage space is needed or very strict enforcement! Block the wheelchair space with luggage, then your luggage is at risk of being taken off of the train
2:46 I find it ironic that despite the frequent train announcements about reporting unattended luggage...
if you report that *you have left luggage unattended* the response is "well what do you expect us to do about it??"
FLIRTs are easily the best unit available in the UK right now and more should be following their leads. Making all stations accessible is a matter of time so we should be buying the rolling stock to meet that standard and not civities.....
fully agree - once the stock is accessible there's an incentive to upgrade the platforms to match, even if it takes a few years
@@Saismee yeah, I mean legally every time NR renovates a station they need to re-level the platform with the accessible height so buying any stock that isn't compatible is completely stupid imo
It must become compulsory to have 915 mm level boarding on all new trains built to operate only the UK network. The FLIRT platform is the only complaint one - but this is because the Civity Class 195/331 was specified more conservatively, and just months before the Class 745/755!
@@bwhugul it's almost funny because it already was law that trains had to be built to that height!
Buy more CAF units and raise platforms to the better standard of 1,115mm.
As a wheelchair-using railfan, I really appreciate this video! It's such a shame that a lot of the old and characterful stations are totally off-limits for me, even with staff with a ramp, due to having no step-free entrance access. (Also, LEVEL BOARDING!!)
That’s infuriating, I do really love old stations. Some have been modified to be accessible in a way that I personally think makes them nicer, like Kings Cross. More like there would be great.
The only option left is to take legal action, I have had so many issues with GWR that I have had to contact a solicitor
sadly, that doesnt do much
@@wisehat_yt trust me, it does! I've known people to have got significant sums of money, along with TOCs being ordered by the courts to rectify the issues.
Hi there, this video was recommended to me all the way here in Australia shortly after I received a pretty nasty letter from Sydney Trains about accessibility. Everything that you said is absolutely correct and is the exact same problems I experience everyday here in Sydney! Some examples are on my channel. The only difference is that nobody here in Australia is talking about it and the few that do are immediately shut down. Please keep doing more of these and I’d be happy to give you further information about my experience as someone with a hidden disability with family members who are in a wheelchair full time if you ever make a video about accessibility in Australia!
Unfortunately I have no plans to ever travel to Australia, though I would like to! Odd that there's little interest there, if you keep trying then eventually the political pressure will be too much to ignore - hopefully.
Thank u for making this video I'm disabled and it's nice to know that people are wanting to see change if I may not necessarily for trains but I do believe that all busses should have audible announcements also just so it's one less hurdle to overcome
This video pretty much sums up why I always make a mention of accessiblity of trains in my railway review series and it's frankly insulting how much of a hassle it is for the disabled (not just physically impaired) to use the railways in Britain today. Mr Doug's videos really drive me up the wall with what he has to put up with and that IET ramp placement being blocked by the escalator is sooooooo symbolic of how this industry acts nowadays. Also that luggage issue you menitoned was horrific. Very much treated as a "not my problem" with the companies involved there.
Disabled passengers are still passengers and should always be treated with the same level of respect and dignity as you would with any other passenger.
Definitely. A great experience for a disabled passenger is almost always worse than the average for anyone else.
As for non-physical ailments, yeah, I probably should have touched on that. I don't have any conditions myself, but noise is nonetheless a massive irritant of mine, and I can only imagine how intolerable it must be for people with overstimulation issues etc. A lot of that could be at least mitigated by actually enforcing or signposting quiet coaches. On GWR's IETs, the only real indication that coach A is quiet is the tiny, easily miss-able green stickers above the windows, and as a result people tend to treat it as any other coach, not necessarily through any fault of their own. I'm seriously considering printing off some sheets with "QUIET COACH" written in bold and putting them in the advertising boards, then more might notice them. I reckon I could get through most of the fleet in a few months, providing no-one at GWR noticed!
With stations like Sugar Loaf you could put a car park spiral styled ramp down to one of the ends of the platform
Same with St James Park (Exeter) where I live, which has extremely steep ramps for exits with a few steps at the bottom for added inconvenience.
I took accessibility for granted growing up using the T&W Metro. When i took my first intercity train i nearly fell on my face in Edinburgh expecting the platform to be at the same height as the train 😂
Oh dear! It's still good that you could go years without thinking about it, though, a credit to the T&W Metro.
I would also add that as a wheelchair user on some trains (class 185s atleast) I am put in the vestibule which ends up feeling like a third class experience. With the mismanagement TPE, crowding in it has often made it a very stressful experience. Very sad to see the MK5s being withdrawn.
It is very frustrating to see no long terms plans for level access. I understand it might take a few generations of trains and stuff, but if plans were put in place now it could be done fairly hassle free over a while, like deciding on a platform height, slowly adjusting platforms, and making sure new stock works with that.
I would add:
Compulsory to provide wheelchair space in first - on many trains I have no option to upgrade.
Compulsory at seat service for wheelchair passengers if walk up catering is provided (or ideally actual access to the.
I have no idea how we can put humans in space but cannot come up with a better ramp than the one we have. The staff look like they're going to break their backs and their fingers operating these death traps.
I believe it is compulsory (or at least de facto compulsory) for new trains to have a wheelchair space in first class. The rumours are that the RMT Union are blocking the introduction of the new Class 197s in Wales, as their first class doesn’t have a wheelchair space. Either way, it looks as if it’ll enter service declassified (which, granted, means everyone is unable to upgrade, but at least it’s a universal inconvenience!).
I had a huge problem this week. Every person I spoke to gave a different reason why it happened - all my fault of course. Unbelievable. Not one person tried to solve the problem. Told there was no such train at that time, there was no passenger assistance for that day… I haven’t started a complaint yet because I’m so angry. Just left on freezing cold platform for two hours… THEN I found that m train DID exist and DID leave on time - without me on it! None of this would have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the stroppy, defensive bint who was apparently the Passenger assistant.
as soon as I saw this video pop up I thought "Level Boarding!"
Regardless of opinions regarding the FLIRTs in particular, we need a set of national rail guidelines that can allow Network Rail and TOCs to have a specification for a very precise platform height, as well as door aperture locations for Platform Screen Doors, that they can expect new Trains to meet, within set tolerances. Paired with new ERTMS, etc signalling tech to be introduced, we can come a lot closer to the Transit-style consistency of on/offboarding experience, critical to getting much of the accessibility experience right.
I don't see the reason for having trains that aren't compatible with the platforms. Before, in the US there were three platform levels: raised, low and none - which were accessible respectively at car floor level (raised); by folding stairs in the car (carriage) or the same hidden under a trap door (low platform); or by both the stairs and a footstool emplaced by staff. (no platform)
For a while it was just naturally assumed they'd get around to raising all the platforms and doing away with the stairs. Now they've gotten rid of the stairs but haven't raised all the platforms. We're starting to have big gaps on certain services, which is regressive and inexplicable. (since we never had big gaps before) Of course if there's a curve with a short radius there has to be a gap, but there was a time when these problems were gradually being addressed. Now we're going in the opposite direction.
It seems strange they'd deliberately choose to have situations where staff is required to help passengers with boarding, while the general trend is always towards eliminating hired staff as much as possible otherwise. Perhaps passenger trains are being targeted for something.
There is a standard platform height and there is no sensible reason why trains could not be built to provide level boarding. The Crossrail platforms in Central London have all been built to an even higher level (with matching trains) so level boarding is not then possible beyond London. Wonderful, award winning design!
I have been to railway stations that don’t have step-free access but I think it’s now going to happen. As the government is spending money on improving the railways and allowing trains and stations to fit the requirement for disability. With people on wheelchairs who are using trains more often as well parents with babies on push prams.
I regularly see people with mobility issues boarding and leaving buses with little trouble. As many will know, most buses have a ramp fitted to the doorway which can fold out and allow step free access. Why is this not possible for trains? You could argue cost, but some reasonable size sets already have extending ramps, and for shorter trains it would be easy to implement.
My local station is a example for a slap done job, it’s step free Execpt the footbridge and has 2 step free entrances for a platform respectively. But it’s on a curve, if we raise the platforms for a universal type of train then we could implement a nyc subway system which goes outward for the train and makes it almost step free. however, it can connect onto the train with the train having a tiny ramp for each door.
As a partially sighted person, one simple improvement that could be made to long distance rolling stock would be much larger seat and coach numbers. Particularly with seat numbers, I don't see why these can't be printed 10-15 cm high numbers.
Definitely, in Germany they have large seat numbers on the headrest wings, something like that here would be helpful.
Accessibility is such an important issue but far too often people think that accessibility means providing help to someone in a wheelchair. Of course that's important but it doesn't stop there.
Being autistic, I've lost track of the number of times I've been let down by train operators or left in a difficult situation because help hasn't been available. The issue I face is that I can travel by train entirely unassisted, assuming everything goes right. I book services, i reserve seats if i can and that's all fine. The minute something goes wrong though, a missed connection, a cancelled train, a failed reservation system or whatever and i ask for help with making sure i still have a seat to go to i get told they can't do it and that in future i should book passenger assist, completely ignoring the fact that i didn't need assistance until there was a problem.
Half the time the issue is that assistance is so inflexible, my partner has a plate in his hip but also has massive social anxiety. Like me, he needs to know he has a seat to go to. The number of times I've tried to just reserve a seat with EMR but been told that they don't offer seat reservations on weekends or on their Liverpool to Norwich services - why on earth not?! What's the point in having priority seats if you can't book them? Every time i get told that we should speak to passenger assist and have someone meet us at the station to take us to the train and find us a seat which is totally unnecessary. We just need a piece of paper putting on a seat - how is that difficult?!
Have you tried contacting passenger assist? They can do more than just turn up and escort you, I'm not sure but seat reservations are more likely to be possible with them than the TOC.
@@GWVillager I have, that's literally all they've been able to offer when I've tried calling them. It's bonkers.
1:22 nice thumbnail 😊
you’re welcome for the announcement!
I think it will be better if we use extendable platforms at stations. That way we don't need a ramp or buy new trains with level boarding. It will solve height and gap issues
On the map of the GWR network, many yellow stations do have step free access to all the platforms, albeit with some limitations. Stations in the UK are categorized by their level of step free access as A, B1, B2, B3 or C. A means full step free access to all platforms with level access and lifts. B1 means some step free access to all platforms, but with interchange via the street or ramps slightly steeper than current recommendations, or if it is far to access the step free entrance. B2 means more barriers to access such as steeper ramps, a long interchange route or step free access only being available at certain times (eg if access is via a barrow crossing or if the step free entrance is only open during staffing hours). Category B3 is where a station has step free access to only some platforms, usually where access to the platform on the opposite side is with a bridge or subway with stairs. Category C is where a station has no step free access to any platform. While stations here and there have become more accessible, so many schemes have been talked about but not really come along. I don't live terribly far from Nailsea & Backwell station in Somerset which has steps up to the southbound platform and a steep ramp up to the northbound platform, and nothing has come of various proposals to put lifts in when the station is very much inaccessible. Closing ticket offices was rather a threat to accessibility on the rail network, with assistance as dysfunctional as it is now, what good could less staff in stations do for it? Some stations have literally backslid and made inaccessible quite recently: both Bodmin Parkway and Alfreton have had their barrow crossings removed recently, and they haven't put lifts in, that shouldn't be legal in the 21st century. Even when access schemes have gone ahead, some have been a bit half arsed, like Manchester Oxford road, where they put lifts in but didn't actually make all the platforms accessible
Interesting, I didn't know that. It's awful to hear of stations getting worse, but somehow not surprising...
WOOOOOOOO NICE
I'd think we should stay away from that unified transport app because it's starting go in to wechat territory
3:01 same issue with assistance where they closed the doors and left, but on mine they left with my CHILD.
My word. That's terrible.
If most gaps in height between the platform and train are around 30cm, why don't we build platforms 30cm higher? Why weren't the Elizabeth Line's Eastern and Western legs retrofitted with higher platforms?
What happens at unstaffed station on DOO lines, does the driver operate the ramp or is the passenger just not able to travel?
I believe the passenger just can't travel, or rather is provided with a taxi.
@@GWVillager It isn't physically impossible for the driver to operate the wheelchair ramp. I grew up in Adelaide, Australia and drivers have been doing this for the last 3 decades or so czcams.com/video/-SQfvh8XwQI/video.htmlsi=62IIuv6Lxbyt23Mi
I use a wheelchair. Most operators help me because I call Southern Trains assistance (toll free number) three days before departure and they tell me if I need to change to step free destination and then they organise a wheelchair taxi to my destination station without extra charge. And no I don't use the disabled railcard for a third off off peak travel. Simple give them three days notice and I get ramps to the train and met and assisted if I need to change trains. Plan ahead help them to help you. Video maker rent a wheel chair for a day and try trains with booking assistance 3 days in advance.
3 days in advance is hardly convenient, though. Many (if not most) need to travel at short notice and plans can change.
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