Travelling by Train

Back in 2000, I went with my family to the Mobility Roadshow. I had recently been on a train journey to London with my mother and was very cross about the conditions we had to travel in. We were put into the guards' van, along with all the bags of letters and bicycles. There wasn't anywhere for my mother to sit, so she sat on the floor and my manual wheelchair wobbled about and nearly tipped over when the train stopped.

Whilst at the Mobility Roadshow, I went past the rail travel disability stand so I decided to go and discuss the conditions of travelling in a wheelchair with the lady at the desk. She was extremely sympathetic and told me that improvements were being made to trains, and by 2005 nearly all trains should be accessible. At the time 2005 seemed a lifetime away, and I left her stand feeling rather disappointed.

However, here we are now well into 2005 and I have recently been on four trips by train (using South West Trains and Southern Trains). Two of these were from Havant to Camberley, via Guildford, one from Chichester to Brighton and one from Havant to London Waterloo. These are my observations…

Carriages:- There was plenty of space in the carriages for my manual wheelchair. The trains appear to have two different types of wheelchair carriage, depending on the type of train. Those from Havant to Waterloo had two large spaces in the normal carriage, so I could sit opposite my mother who was accompanying me. The wheelchair spaces from Guildford to Camberley and Chichester to Brighton were next to the loo on the train and had smaller, flip down seats for a helper to sit on. On the trip to Brighton I was in my electric wheelchair but I still felt that I had sufficient space. The new trains are really smooth and it felt really nice to be able to sit with all the other people travelling.

Staff:- Most of the staff on the trains and at the stations were friendly and helpful, but I didn't know if this would be the case in advance. For instance, at one station a really kind guard met us and pushed me from one platform to the other in order to change trains. He assured us that we would be helped off at the other end. On another journey the guard held the train for us as we arrived at the station just as the doors had closed, while we had to cross the level crossing to our platform. At another station we were told by the guard that he had every right not to let us on the train as we hadn't booked in advance! From this I learned that I had to leave much more time than other people.

Getting on and off:- This was the one area that I felt could be improved. In order to get on and off the trains, I had to wait while the station or train staff got out and unfolded a large, heavy looking metal ramp, then struggled to slot it into the holes in the floor of the train. When we wanted to get off, I was always nervous that the train was going to go before we could get off, as the staff sometimes took a long time to arrive with the ramp and the electric doors kept shutting. I felt that it would have been much easier if there had been electric ramps, which could have come out when a button was pressed. This would have helped me to feel more independent and would save the staff at the stations and on the trains from having to haul the metal ramps out.

Overall I would recommend train travel to anybody in a wheelchair. My parents also found that it was much more restful as they were able to relax on the journey, then had more energy once we had reached our destinations. If you are going to travel by train on a regular basis, it is a good idea to get a Disabled Persons' Railcard that gives you a discounted fare, and allows a helper to travel for half price. It is a good idea to phone the train company in advance, and this is what they suggest. However, I also feel that nobody else on the train has to have a booking and the staff should be aware that disabled people want to travel too at any time and sometimes at short notice.

Once I am on a train, I feel I would like to travel to all four corners of the British Isles , enjoying the food trolleys along the way!

Lizzie Baily lizzie@wellspringwestsussex.org.uk