Paralympian Sophie Christiansen stuck on SWR train - BBC News

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

Yet another instance of a disabled person being badly let down by the rail industry. When will they learn? There needs to be robust enforcement of the law with penalties that will hurt TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company). Ideally I'd like to see individuals in court answering for the failings.

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Wheelchair user Sophie Christiansen, who has cerebral palsy, tweeted a video of her ordeal on her London to Godalming journey. The footage shows a passenger holding the train doors open for the dressage rider until an exit ramp is provided.

South Western Railway (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)) said it had apologised to Ms Christiansen.

"I went home and I cried. It finally hit me that society is just not going to change to make services truly accessible. I will have to accept discrimination all my life." The 31-year-old from Ascot said she was told SWR staff were aware she was travelling on the service but when she arrived at her stop there was no-one waiting with a ramp. "It's always the general public helping me; I don't know what I'd do without them," she said. "Without the help I probably would've ended up in Portsmouth at the end of the line because there is no real way for me to block the door to stop the train from moving."

Ms Christiansen said she "went home and cried" because of the repeated difficulties she faces over accessibility on trains. She said she was stranded "one in 10 times" and called on the government to lobby rail companies to improve disabled access.

Despite previously speaking to SWR's inclusion manager about introducing automated ramps to make travelling for disabled people smoother, Ms Christiansen claims manual ones are still in place.

"I literally don't know what it will take for the rail in this country to make the service more accessible," she said. "There should be a different system to allow me to be independent".

Andy Masters, head of services at disabled rights charity Back Up, said stories like Sophie's were "all too common". He said wheelchair users routinely needed to consider problems over access at stations and whether they would manage to find a guard to get them on and off trains. "An easy journey is not a given, but being able to use public transport is essential to most people's daily lives. It allows us to go to work, socialise and get to where we need to be. Accessible stations allow disabled people to live the lives they want, just like everyone else.''

SWR said it was investigating the incident "as a priority" and it was reviewing the process "to make sure this doesn't happen again".

Rail Delivery Group, which represents UK^▸ (United Kingdom) train operators, said it was working to bring "thousands of new, more accessible carriages on track and speeding up the process for passengers booking assistance."

[CyclingSid]

Have seen similar on SWR^» (South Western Railway - about). I do wonder how this is going to work with DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) and unmanned stations, after about 17:00.

Maybe a few rail executives ought to do "secret" trips in a wheelchair on their network, I am sure there is a TV programme in there somewhere.

[Rhydgaled]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

when she arrived at her stop there was no-one waiting with a ramp.

...

Despite previously speaking to SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)'s inclusion manager about introducing automated ramps to make travelling for disabled people smoother, Ms Christiansen claims manual ones are still in place.

I can imagine that automated ramps would be rather difficult, partly due to having to somehow find space for that equipment on the train and partly due to varying platform heights, curved platforms etc. And we should be wary of possibly killing some town's chances of a station by saying that new curved platforms are not allowed.

I think Andy Masters' comment in the article of whether wheelchair users "would manage to find a guard to get them on and off trains." is key. I believe there is a requirement for 'call for aid' buttons at the wheelchair spaces. Logic would suggest that wheelchair users could press this just before their stop, just like an able-bodied passenger would request a stop on a bus, and somebody would come along to help the passenger alight. It is absolutely vital therefore that staff are available to respond to a 'call for aid' activation at short notice; that is one reason for my current forum 'signature', the key part of which is "Don't DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) it, keep the guard".

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

I agree that there is a case for a guard (for want of a better name) on trains. 

The ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)’s view is that DCO^▸ (Driver Controlled Operation) (or DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard))), with the Driver controlling the opening and closing of doors is safe, subject of course to suitable on train and/or platform cameras etc. 

I agree with this view. However, there are other things that need to be done to provide an acceptable level of customer service which the Driver cannot do.  Assisting disabled passengers board and leave the train is one.  On Radio 4 a while ago I heard someone from the ORR or DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) being asked how a disabled person could board a  Thameslink train at an unstaffed station – he gave the ridiculous answer that the Driver would leave his cab (having shut down the train presumably) and get the station ramp.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect disabled people to have to pre-book assistance – like other passengers they won’t always know exactly what train they’ll be getting.  So if only for DAA reasons I think there is a case for staffing a train with more than just a Driver. 

Easyjet can fly you from Luton to Glasgow in a plane carrying 180 passengers with 4 crew for about £40, so the DfT argument that a Guard (for want of a better name) is unaffordable on an 8 coach train carrying 500 passengers doesn’t seem to stand up. 

Easyjet’s air hosts/hostesses will announce that their primary role is safety.  It is, but they will spend all their time providing customer services like making sure everyone is in their right seats quickly, stowing luggage, selling you things (on commission), etc.  They are trained to get you off the plane quickly in an emergency, but that is a role that many will go years without doing.

So RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers), along with the DfT and train operators, need some modern thinking on the role of this second person on the train.  Forget the door opening and closing duties which Drivers can safely do, and move on to what adds value (from both the train operator’s and passenger’s perspective) to a passenger’s journey in a modern train.  They need to be trained in what to do to safeguard passengers in various scenarios of incident or accident (their most important role), but also to assist disabled people (a legal requirement which is not well fulfilled in DOO and unstaffed station areas), provide protection to vulnerable passengers (also, arguably, a legal duty), to check tickets (and thus bring revenue into the train operator), give journey information, help with connection issues etc.

And why could they not take on the trolley dolly (molly) role? Is there any good reason why the traditional “Guard” role could not be modelled on that of a modern air host(ess)? 

[CMRail]

I agree that there is a case for a guard (for want of a better name) on trains. 
And why could they not take on the trolley dolly (molly) role? Is there any good reason why the traditional “Guard” role could not be modelled on that of a modern air host(ess)? 

At the moment, since introduction of the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) I am lead to believe that Train Managers are being pushed to focus more on revenue - they no longer release the doors nor need to manually operate Selective Door Operation. Obviously,  Train Managers can’t be monitored at all times to see if they are doing revenue inspections however there will still be the odd few who don’t really bother, just close the doors and let the automatic announcements roll.

If GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ever choose to get rid of the safety critical guard then I would be shocked if they don’t come back in the format of “On Board Supervisor” or something like that. Making so many people redundant won’t go down well..

[eightonedee]

What I do not understand about this story is that I thought SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) still had old-fashioned guards on all its trains. What was the guard on this train doing?

[JayMac]

What I do not understand about this story is that I thought SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) still had old-fashioned guards on all its trains. What was the guard on this train doing?

He would seemingly have been at the end of the (breakdown in) communication chain. Many reasons why the Guard wasn't there to help Sophie alight. The message never got to the Guard. Didn't read message or forgot. Dealing with another issue. It does appear that the Guard was trying to dispatch, as the hustle alarm sounded several times while the good Samaritan held the doors.

One aggravating factor could have been that the Guard didn't do a walk through at any point in Sophie's journey. It's not unknown for guards to plonk themselves in a cab and only come out during station calls.

The preceding is only supposition on my part though. How and why Sophie came to be at her destination without being able to alight will only be known to SWR after they investigate.

[TaplowGreen]

What I do not understand about this story is that I thought SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) still had old-fashioned guards on all its trains. What was the guard on this train doing?

He would seemingly have been at the end of the (breakdown in) communication chain. Many reasons why the Guard wasn't there to help Sophie alight. The message never got to the Guard. Didn't read message or forgot. Dealing with another issue. It does appear that the Guard was trying to dispatch, as the hustle alarm sounded several times while the good Samaritan held the doors.

One aggravating factor could have been that the Guard didn't do a walk through at any point in Sophie's journey. It's not unknown for guards to plonk themselves in a cab and only come out during station calls.

The preceding is only supposition on my part though. How and why Sophie came to be at her destination without being able to alight will only be known to SWR after they investigate.

Article on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Breakfast this morning & an interview with Sophie. Seems it's a pretty regular occurrence and a complete lottery for disabled people as to whether she (and others) get help. Usual "lessons learned" cut/paste stock response from TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company).

[JayMac]

Indeed TG. And we only get to hear the tales of woe from disabled folk who have a public profile. The athletes, comedians, Dames of the realm...

They are certainly not the only disabled rail users being let down by the rail industry on a regular basis. Their 'incidents' are just the newsworthy ones. I'm pretty sure disabled rail users are let down on a daily basis across the network.

The legislation in place (Equality Act 2010) has been hard fought for after decades of campaigning. It now needs to be robustly enforced. A disabled rail user should have exactly same opportunity to travel as an able bodied person. No excuses.