15.04.16
Disabled passenger numbers hit record levels
More disabled people than ever are using Britain’s railways, figures released yesterday by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) suggest.
In 2012-15, the number of disabled person’s railcards in circulation increased from 144,829 to 175,564.
In 2014-15, there were 83,659 applications for new one-year cards and 31,326 for three-year cards.
In the last three years, the number of rail passengers requesting assistance also increased from 948,019 to over a million.
The new figures suggest that moves in recent years to make the railway network more accessible have succeeded.
Let’s hope TOCs and Network Rail take more action to remove the remaining barriers to disabled passengers, such as the blanket ban on mobility scooters still in place on many lines, so that Britain’s rails can be open to all.