Disabled TfW rail passenger told to sit by train doors

A wheelchair user said he was left feeling travel sick and unsafe after being forced to sit next to the train doors on two railway journeys.

Cameron Wood, 25, from Hereford, said Transport for Wales staff told him it was the only space to sit due to the lack of available wheelchair bays.

He said: "I ended up sitting by the doors and it was like a rollercoaster. It wasn't a very nice experience."

Transport for Wales (TfW) said it would investigate why this happened.

Mr Wood added: "It does worry me that the doors will accidentally open when at stations while a wheelchair is parked against them if this is allowed to continue."

During the first journey on 8 July, from Hereford to Cardiff, he said a pushchair was parked in the wheelchair-only space.

"In the opposite space there was a pushchair and this then led to me being told by a member of Transport for Wales staff to sit by the doors because there was no other wheelchair space at the time," Mr Wood explained.

"Every time we stopped at a station - there were maybe three, four, five stops - I had to move because passengers were getting off and on and I was blocking a door through no fault of my own."

The second journey was earlier on Saturday, from Southampton Central to Hereford via Newport.

"I was told by member of train staff at Newport to sit by the doors of the train because the walkway from the door of the train to the wheelchair area was blocked - so I couldn't get there to begin with," he said.

"They told me to sit by the doors again but I'm about to say I'm finding that I'm having to do this more and more - you have nothing to anchor yourself with.

"It has made me feel quite travel sick."

He added that although his brakes were on and the wheelchair was switched off, this did not stop him moving about.

"I do want an apology from them, it's unacceptable. They shouldn't allow wheelchair users to sit by the door," Mr Wood said.

"They need to use the spaces allocated for wheelchair users."

He is also calling for railway operators to bring in automated announcements to remind other passengers not use wheelchair spaces for their luggage or pushchairs.

He added: "This week I've travelled every day, but normally it's once or twice a month. [Trains] are my lifeline.

"We don't have a choice where we sit and sometimes it can be really, really hard."

A TfW spokesperson said: "Looking after our customers' well-being and safety is our number one priority. We will investigate the services highlighted to understand why the area by the door was utilised.

"We aim to provide assistance to those who need help when travelling on our network.

"If passengers have not reserved a wheelchair space in advance, this may not be available if another passenger is already using the seat or it is reserved for a passenger later in the journey. If there are no priority seats available, our staff will do their best to help find a seat elsewhere.

"Additionally all our trains are fitted with equipment for our conductors to make announcements."

The spokesperson added it was investing £800m in new trains which are being rolled out later this year, increasing capacity by 67%.