Rail stations fail disabled people this Christmas

• Research by disability charity Leonard Cheshire confirms that 38% of train stations across Great Britain still do not have full step-free access.
• The government will miss 2030 target to make end to end journeys step-free by 40 years (2070) at current average rate of completion*.
• Leonard Cheshire are calling for a new law that guarantees all rail journeys in Britain will be fully accessible by 2030.

The government is set to miss its own targets for making all railway stations step-free by 40 years, analysis by the disability charity Leonard Cheshire reveals.

Even at an improved rate of 19 stations a year being made step-free from October 2019, work across the whole rail network wouldn’t be completed until 2070 as part of the government’s Access for All funded projects.

As recently as October 2018, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport spoke of a ‘system that offers equal access to disabled people by 2030.’ 

The current inaccessibility of rail stations means disabled people will be excluded from travelling by train from their local station for work, education or to see friends and loved ones.

As the public prepares for one of the busiest weekends of the year for travel, Leonard Cheshire’s research shows more than a third (38%) of rail stations across England, Scotland and Wales are still not step-free.  

Most of the train operating companies have not made any changes over the past twelve months. Only six have increased the number of step-free stations they operate by over 5%, with just three delivering these improvements at 10% or more of their stations.  Overall, the percentage of stations that are step-free has changed by under 5% in all but two regions. 

Leonard Cheshire is now campaigning for legislation that will compel the government and rail operators to ensure all stations are fit for use by disabled people by 2030.  It wants end to end journeys to be fully accessible from the purchase of a ticket through to station and on-board train information.

Kathy, who is a wheelchair user, relies on trains in Suffolk and her experiences have put her off public transport.  She said:

‘Before I had mobility problems, I worked in London and commuted all the time. As soon as I had to start using a wheelchair, I started to have anxiety. I had to get used to the idea that I just couldn’t go everywhere I used to go.

‘If I could count on rail to be accessible, I’d be free to travel further and not just for work. If I could get on and off trains quickly and easily, and be treated like any other passenger, I’d be more confident and would travel for pleasure.

‘I will not travel during the Christmas period. Stations are congested and difficult to navigate in my wheelchair. People don’t always look where they are going and run in front of my wheelchair – I end up hitting them if I can’t break in time!’

Neil Heslop, chief executive of Leonard Cheshire, said:

‘This is a timely reminder that our current rail network often excludes disabled people from making journeys others take for granted. 

‘As families look to enjoy the festive season together, accessibility issues will add unnecessary stress to disabled travellers who negotiate a sub-standard network every day.

‘We call on Boris Johnson to prioritise the acceleration of Access for All, so disabled people can enjoy the life opportunities provided through modern, accessible rail travel.’

Media enquiries

For further information and high res images please contact Catherine Lynch via catherine.lynch@leonardcheshire.org or 0203 242 0442. For out of hours, please contact 07903 949 388.

Notes to editors

Leonard Cheshire is calling on the public to get on board by adding their name in support of the campaign for #TrainsForAll. So that together we can urge the new Government to reshape Britain’s rail system to make train travel accessible for all.

Our research looked at 34 train operating companies, 29 of which are responsible for at least one train station. Figures based on completing nineteen stations per year to step free standard from November 2019.

1. Stations data by regions and train operating companies

Leonard Cheshire extracted and analysed National Rail website information on 2579 rail stations across Britain, specifically looking at whether the station was reported as step-free, the location of the station, and which train operating company was responsible for the station.

The stations were mapped by region using the ONS National Statistics Postcode Lookup database.

Several stations that report as having step-free access only in fact have step-free access to certain platforms – and as such do not actually have step-free access to the whole station. This means the number of stations that are not step-free is likely higher than what the data extracted from the National Rail website suggests. This was highlighted by Keith Williams, Chair of the Williams Rail Review. (Keith Williams, Transport Committee oral evidence: the Williams Rail Review, HC 59, Question 17, 28 October 2019)

2. Comparison of stations which were step free in October 2018 and October 2019

Leonard Cheshire conducted a similar exercise in October 2018 looking at 2560 stations across Britain, and the results of that analysis have been compared to the analysis detailed in 1.

3. Predictions on when all stations will become step-free based on government progress so far

Leonard Cheshire calculated the date that all rail stations will have been made step-free based on current government commitments being continued through the Access For All programme.

We calculated the average annual rate of stations that will receive Access for All support between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2024 (Network Rail Control Period 6), based on existing government commitments. We have assumed the government will continue to give Access for All support at this rate following the end of their existing commitments, in 2024. The Access for All programme is intended to address the issues faced by disabled passengers and passengers facing mobility restraints and was launched in 2006.

The government have currently committed to supporting a total of 97 stations between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2024, including 24 with works ongoing, and 73 with new funding announced in April 2019. This calculation does not account for the number of stations train operating companies are required to make accessible as part of their franchise agreements, as those agreements are not publicly available. It also does not account for the Mid-Tier Grant Scheme which is part of Access for All, which has not yet been allocated for the 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2024 time period.