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Home > The issues > Public transport > Trains – old

Trains

Find out more about the barriers disabled people face to travelling by rail.

Two people, both wheelchair users, are on the platform at a large train station. On the left is a white woman with long brown hair, wearing a grey coat over a brown dress. On the right is a white man with a beard and glasses, wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. They are laughing together.
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Policy background

The National Travel Survey 2021 found that people with a ‘mobility difficulty’ made on average 2 rail trips per year, as opposed to 14 trips per year completed for the average person with ‘no mobility difficulty’ (Department for Transport).

Due to the inaccessibility of rail infrastructure, many disabled people rely upon staff assistance to travel by train. However, operators can decide how to deploy staff, with few regulatory conditions.

  • Only 11% of stations are staffed at all times, with a further 45% staffed only part-time. (DPTAC)
  • In the year ending March 2023, just 81% of pre-booked Passenger Assistance requests resulted in all assistance being received. This means almost 1 in 5 assistance requests were unsuccessful. (Office for Rail and Road)
  • A 2022 audit found that only half of disabled participants were able to successfully receive assistance from Help Points. The other half were prevented from doing so by a number of barriers, such as the points being out of reach, broken, or otherwise inaccessible (Office for Rail and Road)
  • An accessibility feature that would enable some disabled people to travel independently is Level Boarding (train floors level with platform). Just 2% train stations have level boarding. (DPTAC) There is no National standardised height for train platforms meaning rolling stock continues to be purchased with different floor heights.

Trains in numbers

1 in 4
mainline train stations have step-free access
2%
of stations have level boarding (train floors level with platform)
67%
stations have platform(s) which are too narrow for wheelchairs to turn
40%
of mainline rail stations have no tactile paving

Our research and work on trains

Photograph of three disabled people looking defiantly into the camera. On the left is a black man with upper and lower limb differences who uses an electric wheelchair. He has short brown hair and a beard, and is wearing a blue t-shirt and bag. In the middle is a white woman standing with her arm on her hip. She has brown hair, wears glasses, and a black jumper. On the right is an Asian man who uses an electric wheelchair. He has dark hear, and wears glasses, a grey denim jacket, and jeans.
News
31st Oct 2023

Campaign victory: Plans to close rail ticket offices are officially scrapped

We're celebrating a major victory today, as proposals to close hundreds of rail ticket offices are officially scrapped.
A group of people gathered together on a street with several using wheelchairs. A white woman wearing a red t-shirt stands in the centre speaking into a megaphone.
Press Release
24th May 2022

Celebrating the disabled activists who campaigned for an accessible Elizabeth Line

As Crossrail opens today, disability charity, Transport for All, pays tribute to the efforts of the 2013 campaigners.

A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt. A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt.

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