27 July 2023 , 14:41
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Tanni Grey-Thompson has warned disabled people are being driven off the railways as she joins the fight against ticket office closures.
The Paralympics legend accused train bosses of being “disingenuous” by claiming that shutting offices may actually help disabled passengers.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, who regularly travels by train across the country, said in reality the attitude of firms is “we don’t care”.
The railway industry has drawn up plans to close ticket counters at 974 train stations in England. Passengers have got until September 1 to give feedback on the proposals that would see almost every ticket office shuttered.
The Mirror is leading efforts to stop the closures, which will particularly hit the elderly, vulnerable and disabled.
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Rail passengers have got until September 1 to have their say on ticket office closures (Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Train operators claim ticket offices are no longer needed as most passengers buy online or at station machines. They say staff will be moved on to platforms and concourses.
But Baroness Grey-Thompson, who is one of Britain’s greatest Paralympic athletes, warned that passengers’ safety will be put at risk. She told the Mirror: “Selling it as it’s going to be amazing for disabled people is quite disingenuous.
“Instead of going to the ticket office and saying hello, you are going to have to wander around trying to find help points which aren't always clearly signed. At smaller stations that maybe have three or four platforms, you don’t know where that member of staff is going to be. And they'll be pulled in different directions.”
The peer added: “What about a visually impaired woman at night wandering around a train station trying to find the member of staff and some creepy man says “oh, I’m the member of staff, let me help you”? It doesn't bear thinking about.”
Baroness Grey-Thompson, who makes up to 150 train journeys a year from her home in the North East, voiced fears it will become more difficult to travel. “With no ticket offices and less staff, we are having our legal rights to turn up and go eroded,” she said. “It won't happen overnight. We'll wake up in five years from now and none of us will be allowed to just get on the train in the same way non-disabled people are.”
The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 stated that all trains had to be accessible by disabled people by January 2020. Baroness Grey-Thompson said: “Every single government has allowed derogations. Every single government should hang its head in shame that they've kicked the can down the road.”
She highlighted the example of Old Oak Common, a new railway station that is being built in West London that will eventually link the Elizabeth Line with HS2. Ministers earlier this month admitted the platforms used for Elizabeth Line services will not have level boarding so that wheelchair users can get on trains without needing ramps.
“This is a new station,” said Baroness Grey Thompson. “What are they doing? It is expensive and difficult and challenging, but it’s going to make life for a lot of disabled people very hard. The attitude towards disabled people is ‘we don't care’.”
She added: “I had an incident a couple of weeks ago where I booked assistance. I got to the station and the ticket office was shut and there were no members of staff. I only got on the train because a very strong man pulled me and my chair on.”
More than 170,000 people have so far responded to the consultation on the proposed ticket office closures.
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