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You are here: Home / Archives for Great British Railways

Great British Railways

Level boarding pledge in government strategy is welcomed, but railways bill amendments are still vital

By John Pring on 8th October 2026 Category: Transport

Level boarding pledge in government strategy is welcomed, but railways bill amendments are still vital
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Disabled campaigners have welcomed a government strategy that says new passenger trains should aim to allow level boarding wherever possible, but they say key amendments to the railways bill will be needed to make the plan a reality. They have also […]

Letter from MP and activists demands rights and accessibility improvements to railways bill

By John Pring on 12th February 2026 Category: Transport

Letter from MP and activists demands rights and accessibility improvements to railways bill
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Disabled campaigners are backing demands for major rights-based changes to the government’s railways bill that would target the poor state of accessibility across the network. Disabled-led organisations and allies including Disabled People Against Cuts, the Campaign for Level Boarding and The […]

Duty to disabled passengers in railways bill is ‘too vague’ and must be strengthened, MPs are told

By John Pring on 11th December 2025 Category: Transport

Duty to disabled passengers in railways bill is ‘too vague’ and must be strengthened, MPs are told
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A statutory duty in the new railways bill to ensure ministers and public bodies promote the needs of disabled passengers is “too vague” and must be strengthened as the legislation passes through parliament, MPs were told yesterday (Wednesday). The transport select […]

Ministers listen to disabled campaigners and return key accessibility duty to railways bill

By John Pring on 6th November 2025 Category: Transport

Ministers listen to disabled campaigners and return key accessibility duty to railways bill
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The government has restored accessibility to the heart of its planned rail reforms, in a victory for disabled campaigners and allies who fought plans to remove a key measure from new legislation. Labour had previously dropped plans to ensure there was […]

Angry response from campaigners as rail minister seeks to reassure MPs about government’s access plans

By John Pring on 10th April 2025 Category: Transport

Angry response from campaigners as rail minister seeks to reassure MPs about government’s access plans
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Disabled activists have delivered an angry and dismissive response to a government minister who has tried to justify dropping plans to put accessibility at the heart of rail reforms from a critically-important public consultation. In a letter to the Commons transport […]

Government’s railways consultation has ‘betrayed’ disabled passengers, campaigners tell minister

By John Pring on 27th February 2025 Category: Transport

Government’s railways consultation has ‘betrayed’ disabled passengers, campaigners tell minister
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Disabled campaigners and allies have accused the government of “betrayal” after it dropped plans to put accessibility at the heart of rail reforms from a hugely important public consultation. In a letter to transport secretary Heidi Alexander, they warn that current […]

Anger after government appears to drop Tory plans to put accessibility at heart of new national rail body

By John Pring on 20th February 2025 Category: Transport

Anger after government appears to drop Tory plans to put accessibility at heart of new national rail body
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Labour appears to have dropped the Conservative government’s pledge to place accessibility right at the heart of the new national body that will run the railways. Concerns were raised by The Association of British Commuters (ABC) when this week’s consultation on […]

Government’s advisers say ministers’ plans will not deliver an accessible railway

By John Pring on 4th August 2022 Category: Transport

Government’s advisers say ministers’ plans will not deliver an accessible railway
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The government’s advisers on accessible transport have told ministers they do not believe that their proposals for reforming the rail system will be enough to deliver an accessible railway. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) says in its response to a public […]

New chair of DPTAC must be disabled, say transport access campaigners

By John Pring on 16th June 2022 Category: Transport

New chair of DPTAC must be disabled, say transport access campaigners
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Campaigners have warned the government of the vital importance of choosing a disabled person to head its influential committee of advisers on accessible transport. The warning comes as the committee is set to assume an important new role as part of […]

Ministers pledge to publish their first ‘robust’ rail access strategy

By John Pring on 27th May 2021 Category: Transport

Ministers pledge to publish their first ‘robust’ rail access strategy
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The government has promised to publish its first “robust” national strategy to improve the accessibility of the rail network. The pledge came in its new white paper, which aims to “transform the railways in Great Britain”. There was little or no […]

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Level boarding pledge in government strategy is welcomed, but railways bill amendments are still vital

DWP silent after Tory member of PIP review publishes report demanding child disability benefits are slashed

Access failures at Tory conference leave wheelchair-user suspended in mid-air for more than an hour

Ministers’ decision to slash accessible housing targets was ‘unprincipled’, but Timms says they were right

Greens sideline disabled people at annual conference

National accessibility standards are crucial for addressing transport barriers, Tories hear at conference

Tories discriminate against disabled editor by blocking DNS from receiving key information at conference

Free social care is coming… but only if you’re over 65, government confirms after Burnham speech

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Image of front cover of The Department, showing a crinkled memo with the words 'Restricted - Policy. The Department. How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence. John Pring.' Next to the image is a red box with the following words in white: 'A very interesting book... a very important contribution to this whole debate' - Sir Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability. plutobooks.com and the Pluto Press logo.

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