Decision to order level boarding trains is ‘massive victory’ for disabled campaigners

Disabled campaigners say the government’s decision to lease 29 battery-electric trains that will allow level boarding for disabled passengers at stations across the north of England is a “massive victory” for their campaign.

The announcement by state-owned TransPennine Express (TPE) will see the British-built trains entering service from winter 2034 on routes from Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough, Manchester Airport to Saltburn, and Manchester Piccadilly to Hull.

The trains will be built in Derby by French manufacturer Alstom, and leased to state-owned TransPennine Express (TPE), which promised “more seats and better accessibility” with what it said would be the UK’s first battery-electric trains to operate on long-distance mainline services.

Sources suggest that level boarding will be available by 2034 at 19 stations on the routes that are run by TPE, although platform improvements will need to be made at about 10 more stations it serves across the three routes, although the Department for Transport (DfT) was unable to confirm these figures by noon today (Thursday).

Tony Jennings, co-founder of the disabled-led Campaign for Level Boarding, said the announcement on ordering the 29 new battery-electric trains “which comply with the latest accessibility standards and offer level boarding is a massive victory for everyone in the campaign”.

But he said there would need to be a “wider discussion” about the stations where platforms would need to be raised to enable level boarding.

And he said it was vital that DfT now produces a new standard for securing future rail rolling-stock which would make it clear that it should all be low-floored and have retractable gap-fillers to enable level boarding.

Level boarding enables far more people to travel independently, he said, including wheelchair- and mobility scooter-users, families with pushchairs, and tourists with heavy luggage.

But level boarding is also far safer, because it removes the gap between the train and the platform, and it allows trains to spend less time at each platform.

Jennings said DfT was undergoing a study of the rail network across England, Scotland and Wales to identify “practical options to increase the number of locations where more level, independent boarding can be achieved in the future”.

He said he hoped that peers including Baroness [Tanni] Grey-Thompson would introduce amendments to the railways bill, which has begun its passage through the House of Lords.

These amendments should include measures that force the new Great British Railways to introduce a long-term rail strategy that includes a rolling programme of work to raise platforms to enable level boarding, and funding and deadlines to deliver accessible rail travel.

Jennings said: “The secretary of state must establish and maintain programmes – including the existing Access for All scheme – to enable permanent step-free access at railway stations, platforms and trains, and publish the programmes and keep them under review.”

And, he said, DfT should publish a station-by-station programme for permanent step-free access, with an annual report to parliament.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, who has campaigned for years on accessible transport, said the TPE announcement was “really significant” because it “sets the bar high for future procurement and it means that we are finally taking steps forward for level boarding and they do not keep kicking the can down the road.”

But she said there were “many other things that are also needed”, including the implementation of disabled people’s right to “turn up and go” at rail stations without booking assistance in advance.

She said: “There are far too many failures, and I am frustrated that many train companies would like to ignore our legal right to turn up and go.

“So many times when there is a failure [especially when the train operating company is questioned on social media] they will ask: ‘Was assistance booked?’

“This is not acceptable.”

Another disabled campaigner and co-founder of the Campaign for Level Boarding, Doug Paulley, said that all new trains ordered should be compliant with level boarding standards.

But he said: “It is only one part of the issue – the others being the stations, many of which are being built to level boarding standards as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

“This will result in a significant improvement in independent accessibility for many disabled people and other passengers.

“Personally, I am very, very happy to see this.

“It is totally unacceptable for any train operating company to order new stock that isn’t compliant with level boarding.

“The fact that other train operating companies ordered inaccessible trains comparatively recently, for example LNER, is a disgrace, and it is very much welcome to see that trend being challenged.”

James Barber, interim chief executive at the disabled-led charity Transport for All, said: “We should all have the freedom to turn up at the station, get on a train and travel spontaneously and with confidence.

“But for many disabled people, the gap between the train and the platform edge makes independent boarding impossible, leaving us reliant on passenger assistance.

“As the Campaign for Level Boarding and disabled campaigners around the country have been saying for years – this is a barrier that can, and must, be designed out.

“Projects like Merseyrail show we have the knowledge and technology to bridge the gap.

“It’s great to hear that the TransPennine Express will deliver independent travel for more passengers, too, but that must be the goal everywhere because when one node on the network fails, whole journeys fall apart.

“Great British Railways needs to create a railway where disabled people can simply turn up and travel, and every decision on trains and stations must deliver that as standard.”

Picture: A digital image of a disabled passenger boarding one of the new trains