Free ticket to ride for 12-year-old wheelchair user from Pewsey

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From ThisIsWiltshire:

Brain tumour survivor Charlie Charles from Pewsey is on track for a free train ride after being told he could not take his wheelchair on a train at Pewsey Station.

The 12-year-old will meet the driver and look around his cab as compensation from First Great Western.

Two weeks ago his mother, Theresa, decided to travel to Reading by train from Pewsey, taking Charlie so he could use a voucher he had received at Christmas.

Charlie^s tumour and the subsequent surgery to remove it resulted in an eight-month stay at hospital in Oxford, leaving him with weakened muscles and difficulty balancing. The determined Pewsey Vale School pupil is slowly learning to walk again and can manage a few steps, but relies on a push-around wheelchair at home and a battery-powered one for when he is out and about.

He was looking forward to his shopping trip to Reading and was upset when he and his mother were turned away from Pewsey station ^ for failing to give 24 hours notice of wanting to travel with a wheelchair.

It was only when they had already paid for their tickets, said Mrs Charles, that the ticket office staff told her ^quite brusquely^ that they could not travel because they had not given a day^s notice.

Mrs Charles said: ^I pointed to the ramps that were on the other platform and asked them to bring them over, but they flatly refused. There were two men in the office and they were adamant that Charlie could not travel and they were not going to fetch the ramps. I demanded my money back and we left the station before the train got in.^

Mrs Charles has now made a formal complaint to train operator First Great Western, saying its requirement for 24 hours notice for a wheelchair passenger was ^nothing short of discrimination against the disabled^.

Charlie said: ^I was very disappointed that we were not allowed on the train. We have used trains quite a lot before without any problem.^

First Great Western told the Gazette: ^We do encourage customers who need assistance to let us know in advance so we can be certain a member of staff is available. We^re so disappointed Charlie missed out on his day that we would like to invite him and his mum for a journey on us and meet one of our drivers and maybe get a quick look around the driver^s cab.^

[JayMac]

One hopes the staff involved are suitably retrained.

There is no obligation for disabled travellers/wheelchair users to give the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) 24 hours notice.

For convenience (mostly on the part of the TOC) it may be advisable to book assistance, but the rail network is turn up and go for the able bodied, so it would be discriminatory for that not to be the case for the disabled.

I was under the impression on board staff are trained in the use of ramps for wheelchairs. Pewsey is only served by trains with a guard/TM^▸ (Train Manager, or Ticket Machine, or Temple Meads (Bristol), depending on context) so they should be on hand to help the disabled board. Booked assistance or not. Perhaps even (if there was time), the ticket office staff should've have contacted Control so a message could be relayed to the guard/TM.