TPE to run trains without wheelchair provision

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Disability News Service

Long article

A train operator will this summer start running mainline rail services that wheelchair-users will not be able to access… with the apparent blessing of the government.

It is believed to be the first time for many years that a scheduled mainline train service will run without any provision for passengers who use wheelchairs.

And it comes just days after the Equality and Human Rights Commission was said to be considering legal action against the government over its failure to ensure an accessible rail service.

That threat emerged after rail operator Govia Thameslink Railway issued “grossly insulting” guidance to station staff that said they should not attempt to place “persons of reduced mobility (PRM^▸ (Persons with Reduced Mobility))” on a train “if there is a possibility of delaying the service”.

Now train operator TransPennine Express (TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express)) has decided to run services that will be out of bounds to wheelchair-users.

TPE is part of the transport giant FirstGroup, which in January 2017 was found by the Supreme Court to have breached its duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people under the Equality Act through its “first come, first served” policy on the use of wheelchair spaces on buses.

[continues]

Edit to correct link

[plymothian]

The 225 Castle Class that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) uses is the same.

IMO^▸ (in my opinion) a rather sensationalist headline that implies ALL trains will not be accessible.

[grahame]

The 225 Castle Class that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) uses is the same.

IMO^▸ (in my opinion) a rather sensationalist headline that implies ALL trains will not be accessible.

That certainly undermines the article's comment "It is believed to be the first time for many years that a scheduled mainline train service will run without any provision for passengers who use wheelchairs."

My understanding with the Castle Class was that a single test train was running without a disabled loo to get the program on the road, then deliveries were taking place at one per month up to December 2018 with disabled loos until a total of 11 units are running.  However, that suggests that there should be five or six in place at present, and I don't think that's the case yes, is it?   Big rush over the next few months, then??

[stuving]

From Disability News Service

(Corrects misplaced brackets in OP^▸ (Original Poster / topic starter) so link works.)

[grahame]

From Disability News Service

(Corrects misplaced brackets in OP^▸ (Original Poster / topic starter) so link works.)

Thanks!

[stuving]

The 225 Castle Class that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) uses is the same.

IMO^▸ (in my opinion) a rather sensationalist headline that implies ALL trains will not be accessible.

Well, it is (at least in part) a campaigning organisation. But if you read down, the TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express) words do say this applies to just two trains in use for six months or less, which isn't the tenor of the surrounding text. If it was, it would be fair to include that that's only a plan, and reality might not deign to follow it.

That cuts both ways. If it is just two trains, would it be that hard to get two with the conversions done?

[rogerw]

I suspect that these are existing Mk3 sets (Ex VT^▸ (Virgin Trains - former franchises)) being pressed into service to reduce congestion.  If they are not used the alternative would be to run shorter, more crowded trains using existing stock.  As long as the affected trains are clearly identified in publicity I do not see a major problem.  After all some buses are not low floor and services which these operate are generally identified.

[brompton rail]

I understand TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express) now say that these two Mk3 sets will not be running and the ex Pendolino carriages will be used only for driver training and not passenger carrying. Sorry, but I can’t find the link to TPE’s announcement.

[Richard Fairhurst]

https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/media-centre/mark-3-statement

[grahame]

I suspect that these are existing Mk3 sets (Ex VT^▸ (Virgin Trains - former franchises)) being pressed into service to reduce congestion.  If they are not used the alternative would be to run shorter, more crowded trains using existing stock. 

A much more equal alternative 

[JayMac]

The major issue was the alternative arrangements TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express) were going to put in place for disabled passengers.

If a disabled passenger's chosen train was to be one that was inaccessible they were to be required to wait up to an hour (dependant on location) for the next one. If that was also inaccessible then they would be provided with a taxi.

That plan was a clear breach of the Equality Act. A reasonable adjustment would have been a taxi in lieu of the first inaccessible train. To delay a disabled passenger isn't reasonable.

After some justified criticism of the plan, and after consultation with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), it was decided not to introduce the two trains which had no disabled provision.

TPE have had access to the MK3 carriages for nearly two years and it was perfectly possible for them to be made accessible. Not 2020 compliant, just accessible like all other Mk3 sets running currently. TPE chose not to do so.