Rail improvements for disabled could help millions, says comic

Disabled comedian Francesca Martinez today backed a campaign to improve accessibility on the railways.

Martinez, who describes herself as a “wobbly woman” due to mobility problems caused by cerebral palsy, said the changes could improve journeys for millions of passengers.

Network Rail, which runs the UK’s rail infrastructure and many of the bigger stations, has recruited London Olympics accessibility expert Margaret Hickish to ensure its work to renovate and rebuild stations considers the needs of all passengers at the outset.

Martinez, from Queen’s Park, takes trains to gigs around the country, and as part of the initiative she was able to raise concerns with NR boss Mark Carne while making a video about the challenges for disabled passengers.

These include the need for disabled people to get early notice of which platform a train is departing from, and the location of named coaches when they have booked a seat, and the wish not to have to give 24 hours’ notice to apply for help from station staff.

Martinez said: “When they announce a platform for a train just five minutes before it goes, I’m so stressed, as I know there will be hordes of people rushing by me as I’m struggling to get to the platform. I travel with my partner and I’m always saying: ‘If only they could do this, or put that in place, it would make my life so much easier.’

“It’s very hard for able-bodied people to imagine all the different scenarios and readjustments that would make travel easier for a range of abilities.”

She added: “The wonderful thing about this campaign is that it does come from someone who uses the trains a lot and who has a disability.”

Changes in the Spaces and Places for Everyone initiative include providing lifts to all the platforms at London Bridge during its upgrade, an audio guide for blind travellers using Reading station and a dog toilet area for guide dogs at Birmingham New Street.

According to research by Populus for Network Rail, of the two-thirds of disabled people who travel by train, 24 per cent do not feel that their journey will be an easy one.