I was stranded on a cross-country train until a cleaner spotted me. Enough is enough
A disabled man who was stranded on a train before he was eventually spotted by a cleaner is joining a call to get the government to make railways more accessible for disabled travellers.
Doug Paulley, who lives in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, spoke to Yahoo News about how he has spent years dealing with transport nightmares as a disabled man, including being left stranded on trains with no staff around to assist him.
The wheelchair user recalled times where he had resorted to pulling the emergency cord to alert staff that he was still on board and had been left without assistance on a train that had reached its final stop, "with nobody on the train, even to answer the emergency button to find me".
Paulley, a highly respected disability campaigner, won a judicial review challenging the government's attempt to close train ticket offices across England in December 2023. He said he wanted to share how "highly stressful" getting a train as a disabled traveller can be in the UK to highlight the urgent need to make rail travel significantly more accessible for disabled people.
He is joining 10 disability and commuter organisations urging the government to get accessibility back on the map in its upcoming Railways Bill, with "all of the previous government's pledges abandoned."
Their demands include full staffing for trains, stations and ticket offices, the government to set a deadline for all stations to have step-free access, as well as 'turn up and go' travel — allowing disabled passengers to travel spontaneously on the rail network without needing to pre-book assistance in advance.
The Bill, which was placed under consultation in February, aims to reform the railways, bringing them back into public ownership as well as make booking trains easier, and less costly.
But plans to put accessibility as a statutory duty "at the heart" of the new Great British Railways (GBR) appear to have been dropped in the latest consultation documents.
'I was just stuck there'
Paulley told Yahoo News about one journey on a CrossCountry Trains service earlier this year where he was stranded at Newcastle station, and almost ended up unwillingly travelling to the other side of the country before staff noticed he was on board and needed assistance to get off the train.
Speaking about the experience, Paulley told Yahoo News: "It wasn't supposed to be my train, but my train was running really late and you know how it is, you just get on whatever's available.
"The train got to Newcastle, everybody got off, the lights went off and nobody was there.
"In the end, I tweeted CrossCountry and they tried to get somebody to see me, but the driver got on to take the service south again, setting back in the direction of Taunton.
"The cleaner spotted me and eventually they managed to attract the attention of a member of staff on the platform who got me off the train.
"It's scary thinking that nobody checked the train to check that it was properly empty before turning everything off and leaving. I was just stuck there."
Unreliable — and unsafe
Paulley is keen to emphasise that it's "not just the journey" that is a nightmare for disabled people.
"It causes stress and distress on the run-up and afterwards as well, and work. A lot of stations aren't accessible to me in that they've got no step free access to some or all platforms.
"They're inaccessible to other people because they don't have the staff that they need, particularly in driver-only operated areas where there's no guards.
"I can't just turn up at a non-staff station because there'll be nobody to put the ramp down. With a lack of level boarding, I just can't get on or off it. The spontaneity is gone.
"They might try and book me an accessible taxi to somewhere else, but that is very unreliable and lots of the time very unsafe.
"Even when there are staff present, they can often forget."
Blocked from easy and convenient travel
Currently, only 13% of disabled people can use trains with confidence and ease, according to research carried out by advocacy group Transport for All.
Emma Vogelmann, co-CEO of Transport for All, told Yahoo News: 'Our trains should give everyone the freedom to make everyday journeys - to work, to school, or just for fun.
"But ongoing problems with our rail system are blocking disabled people from being able to travel easily – basic facilities like lifts, waiting rooms and display screens are broken, locked or missing.
"In July 2024, Keir Starmer promised that accessibility would be at the heart of our new rail system, that's all that's needed to put things on the right track, so everyone – disabled or not - can travel easily on our trains.'
Rensa Gaunt, a spokesperson for Inclusion London, a deaf and disabled people's organisation, told Yahoo News: "Reliable access to transport unlocks jobs, education and community. But the current railway system blocks us from easy and convenient travel, and makes us reliant on assistance that doesn't always turn up. In some cases, we are left stuck on trains, or are forced to cancel our journeys partway through.
"We support the call to restore accessibility as an urgent priority, and to strategically plan with disabled people for a railway that we can all use reliably.
"We need this and it needs to happen. Otherwise, disabled people continue to be excluded and have terrible experiences on the rail for the foreseeable future."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Accessibility is a core priority for Great British Railways (GBR) and we are committed to delivering a rail system which allows disabled people to travel easily, confidently and with dignity.
'We are considering all options to ensure accessibility is at the heart of GBR, such as creating a powerful new passenger watchdog to ensure services work for disabled passengers, and later this year we will publish a roadmap setting out our approach to delivering a more accessible railway.'
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