A man with a severe heart condition said he feels “less of a person” when train accessibility failures leave him struggling to travel independently.
Richard Cox from Penarth told CJS News he finds it hard to navigate train travel in Wales with “unreliable” lifts, unmanned ticket gates, and what he claims is poor communication between railway staff.
Transport for Wales said it is “committed to excellent service for all our customers” and point towards The National Rail Enquiries website for information about planning an accessible journey.
Under new standards brought in under the Disability Discrimination Act, all trains in the UK were meant to be fully accessible by January 2020.
But one disability charity, Leonard Cheshire, has said without measures speeding up, the railway network won’t be accessible until 2070.
In South Wales, a number of train stations including Cogan and Cathays have steep steps with no lifts.
“If you’re coming from Barry to Cogan, you have to use the bridge. And those are steep steps. Even before I became disabled, I was struggling with them. Now, I just couldn’t.”
When Richard Cox’s train was diverted through Bath en route to Cardiff, he said the train had to reverse at Bristol, causing his carefully selected carriage to no longer be stationed opposite the lift. As a result, he said he had to walk the length of the platform, which he described as “exhausting”.
He told CJS News that he often finds it difficult to get the right support from staff.
People that really need help, don’t get it.
The lack of train accessibility is not a new problem. In 2024, Welsh Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson was forced to “crawl off” a train at Kings Cross Station after staff failed to help her.
In an interview with the BBC, Grey-Thomspon said she was “angry” about the event, adding it was “just not right.”
To prevent instances like these, Richard has called for more robust disability training for staff, and a “mystery shopper” review approach could be effective in making sure all passengers with disabilities get the help they need.
“If they know that somebody out there could be a mystery shopper from the train company, they will take care of the passengers. Now, it’s only a small number of railway staff who don’t, but unfortunately that’s enough. It’s a risk.”
Transport for Wales say it has “dedicated teams of Travel Companions at [their] busiest stations and have invested in new changing places at key stations around the network .”
It also added it’s working with “rail industry colleagues and the Welsh Government” and has “ambitious plans to improve the accessibility” of its services.