31.05.16
Over 60% of rolling stock now accessible for disabled passengers
Over 60% of British rolling stock has been built or refurbished to be accessible to disabled passengers, according to an annual DfT report.
The report says that 6,275 heavy rail vehicles (49% of the national fleet) and almost 2,100 non-heavy vehicles (42% of the fleet) are built to accommodate the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR).
The RVAR covers areas including the width of seats, doors and passageways, the gap between platform and step, illumination of the step/door threshold and volume of announcements.
Under the Equality Act 2010, the department is required to ensure all UK passenger trains abide by the regulations by 2020.
Among trains built before 1998, 1,628 have undergone modifications to bring them into line with the regulations.
Overall, 10,700 fully accessible rail vehicles are in service, an increase of 1,550 in 2015 alone.
Although section 183 of the Equality Act empowers the transport secretary to grant exemption orders for some rail vehicles, only two were granted in 2015, for London Underground Northern Line 95TS stock and Docklands Light Railway B2007 stock.
An application by London Underground to renew an exemption order for Victoria Line 09TS stock, Metropolitan Line S8 stock and District, Circle and Hammersmith and City S7 stock will be considered this year.
Figures from the ORR showed that in 2012-15, the number of disabled person’s railcards in circulation increased from 144,829 to 175,564, suggesting that unprecedented numbers of disabled passengers are using the railways.
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