- Conference
- 2004 National Disabled Members' Conference
- Date
- 23 July 2004
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
We have serious concerns regarding the commitment of the rail industry towards disabled people.
Many stations have no ramps or lifts and platforms are only accessible by bridges across the tracks.
When stations are refurbished disabled access on them does not improve either which clearly shows a lack of commitment towards disabled people using the trains.
We call for:
1)proper enforcement of the Strategic Rail Authority’s Code of Practice – Train and Station Services for Disabled People. This is not enforced despite Section 6.5 of the government’s Ten-Year Transport Plan, which required that no money be spent on public transport infrastructure if it is not accessible for disabled people. We believe that proper enforcement of the code would lead to an accessible railway;
2)the Strategic Rail Authority’s National Rail Academy needs to promote and/or finance the teaching of the principles of inclusive design which it is not currently doing in order to spread good practice amongst those managing the rail network;
3)the acceptance of the Joint Committee on the Draft Disability Bill’s recommendations for the setting of an end date of 2017 for the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations with a limited exemption scheme which would itself expire in 2025.