As a campaigner for rail accessibility, a train driver and a proud member of the ASLEF union, I am delighted that yesterday ASLEF adopted the motion which I wrote for debate at ASLEF’s Annual Assembly of Delegates (AAD), which means that supporting improved rail accessibility on the UK rail network is now official ASLEF policy.
Many thanks to all the AAD delegates, and a special thanks to my friend and ASLEF colleague Colin Hicks who proposed the motion.
The motion is in full below:
An Accessible Rail Network
“This AAD notes that the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee estimates that at the current annual rates of government spending on rail accessibility, it will take around 100 years to make the UK rail network step-free to current build standards.
Much of the UK rail network remains inaccessible and this prevents disabled people from being able to access employment, education and health care as well as participate in social and leisure activities.
A step-free rail network will enable disabled people to access and use the rail network on an equal basis and contribute to a more inclusive and integrated society. Accessibility is a right, not a privilege.
This AAD believes everyone should be able to play a full part in society. Currently, accessibility improvements often take place without any input from disabled people. This AAD believes that the planning, design, and implementation of accessibility improvements must involve disabled people at every stage of the process.
This AAD instructs the EC to lobby the ASLEF Parliamentary Group to:
• press for more funding to be made available to speed up progress toward a step-free railway.
• to lobby the rail industry to ensure that disabled people are involved at every stage of step-free improvements.”
The ‘Victorian Infrastructure’ excuse is wearing a bit thin after 150 years. Government ministers can’t keep pinning the blame on the Victorians for our inaccessible railway network, any more than we would blame Disraeli or Gladstone for current issues within our social care system.
The principle of a rail network accessible to everyone intersects with numerous social justice issues; improving access to work and leisure, reducing loneliness and isolation and reducing reliance on the car.
Disabled people do not want our pity. They do not want to be told they are “an inspiration”. They want to travel independently like the rest of us.
It is not just morally the right thing to do, it also makes economic sense to have a fully accessible railway network. The 2014 Steer Davies Gleave report highlighted the benefit-to-cost ratio for various step-free projects that indicated a clear economic return for accessibility investment.
The current levels of funding for step-free projects are grossly inadequate. Research published by the Leonard Cheshire charity in 2020 stated that it would cost £400 million per year to make the rail network in England step-free by 2030. This equates to just 1.6% of the annual transport spending in England. *Due to the rampant inflation of the last few years these numbers will of course have increased. As an example, the Biggleswade step-free project budget is now over £10m.
Too often disabled people are consulted as a ‘tick box’ exercise rather than a genuine engagement, often so late in the day that unnecessary extra costs are incurred, or these costs are used to justify no remedial action. Disabled people must be involved from the outset.
The Tories have completely failed at levelling up. Making all our rail stations step-free would be a good place for Labour to start the real levelling up and equality that the UK so desperately needs.
Julian Vaughan
22nd May 2024
*Edit: Further to this, on the same day as the above, ASLEF’s AAD also adopted a motion adopted by ASLEF’s Disabled Members Representative Committee. This motion is set out in full below:
“This AAD believes that access to the railway for wheelchair users falls far short of what we should expect from an inclusive railway in the 21st century.
For example, a Newcastle to Liverpool service only provides two wheelchair spaces at either end of a five-car unit. If both spaces are occupied and a passenger wants to alight at Newton le Willows they need to exit at Manchester and get a taxi to their intended destination.
Provision for wheelchair users varies across operators and traction, the lack of suitable spaces and shortform platforms all present barriers to passengers with additional needs.
This AAD believes that the railway should be accessible to all passengers whatever journey they are making.
Therefore, this AAD instructs the Executive Committee to campaign for improvements to minimum provisions on traction for wheelchair users and to make an accessible railway a priority policy.”
Further Reading:
Steer Davies Gleave Report into Cost Benefit Analysis of accessibility improvements: https://uk.steergroup.com/insights/news/access-all-benefit-research-report-released
Leonard Cheshire – Get on Board 2020: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/Get-on-Board-2020-policy-report.pdf
Network Rail ‘Access for All’ https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/passengers/station-improvements/access-for-all-improving-accessibility-at-railway-stations-nationwide/
When will Labour stand up for a step-free railway? https://julianvaughan.blog/2021/11/26/when-will-labour-stand-up-for-a-step-free-railway/
Julian Vaughan 