'I was shoved in front of broken smelly toilet': Calls for improvements after Derbyshire passengers with disabilities let down by train services

An accessible travel event, organised by Derbyshire Law Centre, was hosted at Chesterfield Town Hall on Thursday, July 10.

The meeting saw a number of speakers share stories of challenges faced by railway passengers with disabilities and calls for improvements.

Gillian Scotford, Director of Accessible UK, explained how raising two children with disabilities has prevented her family from being able to use the railway system.

The mum-of-three from Dronfield said: “I have three sons, including two with disabilities. Sam had a stroke and learning difficulties. Tom had seizures and was relying on wheelchair. He required constant care and we nursed him night and day for 21 years until he died nine years ago.

"We didn’t use rail travel for 21 years. It was too unpredictable. Often there aren’t changing facilities for anyone other than babies on railway stations or trains. It is hard to imagine putting a loved one on the toilet floor to help them change.

"Our journey as a family made me see the challenges faced by people with disabilities. I want to make travel and places more accessible for everyone. It’s something that I am very passionate about.

"Train travel unlocks a world of opportunity. But the current system is not good enough. People with different disabilities have different needs - including wheelchair users, people with hearing loss and sight loss, dementia, autism and more. Many passengers have hidden disabilities.

“I believe that together we can look at barriers different people face and create solutions to make railway travel more accessible.”

The meeting heard that none of the 33 Derbyshire train stations have changing places for passengers with disabilities and 30 lack national key toilets.

24 stations do not have staff available to help passengers with disabilities and 10 do not have step free access.

Karen Sheriff, from Chesterfield, who relies on a wheelchair due to a neurological condition, shared her experience traveling on train between London and Chesterfield after going to see NFL match at Wembley Stadium with her son.

Karen, who set up Building Bridges, a charity working towards reducing isolation in Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire, said: “When I was using the accessible toilet at the train station my son knocked on the door and said the train was cancelled.

"There was only one train left that evening and we would need to go to Sheffield and get a taxi to Chesterfield. If we missed it we would be stuck in London overnight. We planned everything two weeks in advance but our plan went out of the window when the train got cancelled.

"We asked staff for help and a staff member shoved me in front of a broken down smelly toilet. I wasn’t secured at all and I didn’t feel safe. It was a nightmare. And we had to pay for a taxi from Sheffield to Chesterfield to get back. It was very stressful.”

Mhairi Simpson, from Derby, head of community and care at BDA (British Deaf Association), has explained challenges faced by passengers with hearing loss.

She said: “There’s no accessibility for deaf people. There are no visual notifications at the platform if a train is cancelled, delayed or moved platforms.

“We will see others moving away but won’t understand what’s happening. Deaf people don’t know if the train has been cancelled or moved to a different platform.

“Rail staff often lack deaf awareness. Many staff members are not trained in how to communicate with deaf people. Deaf people are trying to gesture and write down certain words and it can be very difficult.

"Online systems are inaccessible as well. Many deaf people have signed all their life and their first language is British Sign Language not English. They struggle with booking a ticket online and with understanding grammar.

"To see real change we need to have people with hearing loss helping co design the stations to explain what visual aids should be on the platforms.

"We need education to be provided for all railway station staff from cleaners, to staff serving coffee and tea, to increase deaf awareness and how to communicate. Small deaf awareness sessions would make a significant difference for the deaf community.”

Maqsood Sheikh, a Senior Regional Campaigns Officer with RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) talked about how difficult and stressful rail journey can be for people with sight loss.

He revealed results of a recent survey carried out by RNIB which found that 60% of passengers with sight loss said they were unable to travel on rail unless accompanied by a friend or family member, 38% said they were unable to make rail journey they wanted to make and 32% found it so difficult to navigate the railway station that the couldn’t travel.

When asked what made the train journeys stressful, 82% of people said it was stepping safely on the train and platform edge, 77% pointed out difficulties with finding the right carriage and 73% struggles to find a seat. Further 67% said operating train door was stressful.

Maqsood, who has sight loss, said: “We really need accessibility to be taken seriously. Consistency is the key. You want the same level of service no matter what station you are on.

“Different train operators are responsible for different for services – they can change in the middle of your journey if you have to change trains. It should be consistent all across the board.

“Even if you book assistance in advance, sometimes it is very difficult to find the support staff. There is also a safety risk that anyone could introduce themselves as an assistant.

“It would be very useful to have a regular place where support staff are at the station, preferably near the main entrance across all stations.

“Sight loss is a spectrum and it is about finding solutions that work for most people. High quality audio announcements are a key solution that would help passengers with sight loss.”

Derbyshire Law Centre invited Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins and North East Derbyshire MP Louise Jones to travel from Chesterfield to Derby wearing simulation specs which significantly affected their vision, to help them better understand the challenges.

Derbyshire Law Centre representatives, disabled passengers and the MPs booked the train journey two weeks in advance, requesting assistance from the railway staff.

But just before their train has arrived, two carriages were taken off the train on the day.

The Law Centre staff explained there was nowhere to sit and when members of the party tried to to move between carriages, the doors kept closing, ‘trying to squash them’.

Commenting on the experience, Mr Perkins said: “It was a really powerful event. It can understand why my constituents with disabilities would feel stressed about rail travel and how it could restrict them from travelling.

“I know the Chesterfield station well but if you didn’t know where the lift was and how to get to the platform, it would be very difficult to get to the train.

“When the train arrived it was difficult to see where the train door was. It would be difficult to get to the train without the support staff.

“On board we were left standing because there were no seats left. Somebody from the train crew tried to find some seats for us but it was very difficult and we needed to split from some of the people to be able to sit down.

“There aren’t many staff members who can help and if the train is delayed or there are multiple passengers who need assistance it makes travelling very challenging.”