Cuts to railway staffing will isolate disabled, charity says

Plans to reduce railway staffing were discriminatory and would isolate disabled passengers, a charity warned.

The National Federation of the Blind posted a petition to the Transport Secretary after the government proposed changes that included closing ticket offices and removing train conductors.

Bill Waddell, a blind pensioner in his 80s, from Gloucestershire, said the proposals were "unsafe and unworkable".

The Department for Transport (DfT) said passenger safety was "a top priority".

The petition has been signed by nearly 90 charities and organisations from across the UK and is supported by the RMT rail workers' union.

It comes during a period of train strikes as unions dispute with the government and rail companies about pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions.

Mr Waddell posted the petition to the Secretary of State for the DFT, MP Mark Harper's Constituency Office, on 29 December.

"How will anybody who is blind, disabled or needing any assistance get on and off a train with no conductor or ticket office staff to help them?" Mr Waddell said.

"We need guards [conductors] left on trains and ticket offices open so that we can travel safely and independently."

The petition, organised by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) UK charity, is requesting safety, security and accessibility on rail networks for blind, deafblind, visually impaired, disabled and all passengers who need assistance at train stations.

Sarah Gayton, Street Access Campaign Coordinator at NFB, said: "This is blatant discrimination.

"Taking away the safety, security and accessibility of public transport from people who rely on it is mean and cruel."

A DfT spokesperson said: "We will move staff out from behind the glass of ticket offices and onto stations to provide more face-to-face help and assistance."

However Sarah Leadbetter, from Leicestershire, is blind, and said she would be "isolated" if the proposed changes take effect.

At the moment, she walks to Narborough train station independently and purchases tickets at the office.

She is then guided to her seat by the train conductor and helped to access connecting trains.

"If there are no staff at ticket offices and no conductors on trains, how I am supposed to travel safely?" she said.

"I simply would not be able to travel on the trains anymore.

"No-one has really thought through the implications these proposed cuts will have on any passengers needing assistance to travel."

The DfT said trains had been operating safely in the UK for many years as driver-only operations, and the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, had approved the approach.

Kevin Greenan is a blind man from Middleton, in Rochdale, and said "conductors on trains are vital".

"I think what they are proposing is absolutely disgraceful and despicable," he said.

"How dare they decide who can and who cannot travel.

"How dare they decide to use their power and authority to make travel inaccessible for me."

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