Three wheelchair users were stuck on a train as staff lacked ramp training, causing distress and delays.
Letty Raby, who’s 22, and her friends thought they’d be greeted by someone with a ramp when they arrived at Windsor and Eton Riverside. Instead, they ended up waiting for 15 minutes after hitting the emergency alarm. They even had to stick their foot over the door to stop the train from leaving!
When they finally got off, a staff member told them that the platform crew didn’t come because they weren’t trained to help. Letty was shocked. She said she expected someone in a high-vis jacket to be there, ready to assist.
Letty shared that if she had been alone, she would have felt completely lost. It’s tough enough for wheelchair users to navigate public transport, and this just adds to the stress. They had used the ‘turn up and go’ service, which is supposed to help people like them, but it didn’t work out this time.
After a nerve-wracking wait, a train worker finally brought an in-train ramp to help them off. But then they found out there was actually a staff member on the platform who just didn’t know how to use the ramp. It’s pretty ridiculous, right?
Letty mentioned that ramps can be tricky to use since they’re locked and different trains need different ones. This wasn’t her first issue with accessibility in London either. Just a month earlier, she and a friend got stuck on a tube train because the doors weren’t wheelchair accessible.
These experiences have made Letty really worried about future trips. She feels like wheelchair users have to plan everything so carefully, which takes away the spontaneity of travel. It’s not fair that they have to jump through hoops just to get around.
Letty is hoping to raise awareness about the need for better training for staff and improved accessibility on the UK’s rail and tube networks. She believes that having trained staff at stations is crucial for making travel easier for everyone.
South Western Railway has apologized for the delay and is looking into why the support wasn’t provided. They acknowledged that their staff need proper training to assist customers with accessibility needs. It’s a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go.
