Jumping Over Humps and Ramps
For wheelchair users, every train journey is a video game level
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Whenever I leave the house, it feels a bit like playing a Super Mario game in real life, especially when I travel by train and have to change trains several times. I have the feeling I’m jumping over humps, book assistance, requesting ramps, and coordinating onward travel and then sometimes it’s still not enough, and I have to start the level again. Last week, I went on a business trip from St Pancras to East Midlands Parkway.
East Midlands Parkway is a strange station. It’s big and well-developed, in the middle of nowhere. It has no public transport connections and only a large car park. This means I have to book a community call bus called “Notts bus”. I book it well in advance. Actually a brilliant service, accessible but popular (which can be a problem for short-term bookings).
Delay? Not a problem normally
Normally, I don’t get nervous or angry about train delays. It’s actually the least of my problems when travelling. But this time the delay was so bad that I would miss my booked Notts bus. I tried to re-book the bus, but it was fully booked for the day. The only option was a Notts bus arriving two and a half hours later. Accessible taxis are difficult to get in this area, especially during the school run. I didn’t want to wait at East Midlands Parkway station for so long. So, I decided to go to Nottingham instead and take a bus to my hotel. Another massive delay, but an accessible option.
I had booked assistance for East Midlands Parkway, so I WhatsApped East Midlands Railway for help. The train was overcrowded, and the conductor couldn’t reach me. And I had no way to make her aware of my problem. I was stuck in the wheelchair space and had trouble getting even to the toilet because of the crowd.
While waiting for their response, an announcement was made that our train would no longer stop at East Midlands Parkway. Passengers bound for East Midlands Parkway should get off at Leicester for a connection to their destination. So all non-disabled people left the train at Leicester to catch another train for East Midlands Parkway and other stations. Even if I wanted, I couldn’t. Still trapped in the wheelchair space.
East Midlands Railway never responded to my cry for help on WhatsApp, but Twitter was more fruitful. They received the same message as the WhatsApp team:
“Good afternoon, EMR team, I think I need your help, please. I’m a wheelchair user on the very delayed 1405 STP to East Midlands Parkway. There is no scheduled public transport from EMP. Therefore, I booked a community bus, which I can’t reschedule because it’s fully booked this afternoon. Could you please arrange for me to go to Nottingham instead and get ramp assistance there, because I can get accessible onward travel from there. The train is overcrowded. Here is no conductor.”
And the first response was:
“Good afternoon, Christiane. Do you currently have Passenger Assistance booked?”
By that time, you might have heard a little cry from the wheelchair space. “Yes”, I wrote, but for East Midlands Parkway, not Nottingham,” I said, exercising my self-control. No question is more irrelevant in such a situation than asking whether the assistance was booked for a passenger who had already boarded. If a wheelchair user is stuck on a train, help them and don’t start with railway red tape.
And why is that not a proactive process anyway? Why do I have to find a way to contact the train operator? They know I’m on the train. They boarded me. I booked assistance. They know I need help because the arranged assistance is obsolete when they cancel my stop.
More Red Tape
They then asked for the assistance booking number. By that time, I had given up. I told them they had my name (there is only one person with my name in the UK) and my train. Then they asked for my email address and mobile number. It was unbelievable. Then, like a miracle, the conductor appeared. The aisle was empty after Leicester. Many people had left as requested through the loudspeakers.
I stopped her in her way, and she asked: “Are you okay?” And I said, “Actually, no. I’m going to East Midlands Parkway, but this train isn’t anymore, and I was trapped here, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get off at Leicester, and nobody in Nottingham knows I’m coming.” She was very lovely. She called her colleagues to arrange ramp assistance at Nottingham.
In the meantime, the Twitter team responded. They had finally realised that I couldn’t get to East Midlands Parkway. They had also called Nottingham to get me off the train. “However, for any alternative arrangements after you arrive in Nottingham, you would need to speak to the station staff directly.” A single word of reassurance or even a sorry? Nope. By then, I had already spent an hour trying to get help from them.
The Deutsche Bahn Experience
When we finally left the train, another passenger, who had listened to my conversation with the conductor (obviously me with a German accent), said to me, “This was a Deutsche Bahn-like experience, wasn’t it?” I laughed.
And when I finally saw the man with the ramp at Nottingham, Super Mario appeared in my head and said, “Thank you so much for playing my game!”
Some interesting links
If the culture of the railway industry towards disabled people doesn’t change, nothing will. If you work in railway, please read this. Your industry body is a bit off-track.
It is impossible to simulate the experience of impairment and disability in all its complexity, nuance and richness, says Robyn Hunt. A text against disability simulations in the workplace and everywhere.
Veteran Taiwanese singer Zheng Zhihua’s viral post about struggling to board a flight at Shenzhen Airport sparked a debate in China over accessibility for disabled people.
Accessible travel is often framed as all-or-nothing: either a traveller needs a wheelchair, or they don’t. This couple clearly explains why this is a wrong approach for airlines, airports, and travel destinations.
Something to read (and watch)
The Spinal Injuries Association published the results of the Travel With Confidence challenge, documenting the real-world challenges wheelchair users and people with limited mobility face every day.
Something to watch
I don’t understand why platform-train interfaces like these (that’s the official term for the area between the train and the platform) are still permitted. It’s not safe.
Some final words
The Accessible Link is a reader-supported publication.
Who is writing this newsletter?
I’m Christiane Link, and I improve the customer experience in aviation, transport, and travel. I worked as a journalist for over two decades and travelled extensively for business and leisure. I’m a wheelchair user.
Work with me
Whether you're a Customer Service Director, a Head of Customer Experience, a corporate Accessibility Manager, a DEI leader, a transport planner, or a member of a disabled employee resource group, I can help you make your organisation more inclusive. You can book me for speaking engagements or hire me as a consultant for your accessibility or DEI strategy, communications advice and other related matters. I have worked for airlines, airports, train operators, public transport providers, and companies in other sectors.
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