More than half of blind and partially sighted people fear being stranded, stressed or disoriented when travelling by train because they cannot rely on passenger assistance services, according to new research.
A survey by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) found that three in four blind and partially sighted passengers say they cannot rely on rail staff for assistance or information, while more than 60% say they are not consistently met by staff at stations even when they have booked help in advance.
The research also highlights widespread concern about communication during journeys. Two-thirds of respondents said they could not be confident that train staff would alert them if their destination changed while they were on board.
Physical safety remains a major concern, the report found. Once they have located their train, 82% of blind and partially sighted passengers said the gap between the train and the platform causes them difficulty. RNIB warned that such incidents can lead to serious injuries and, in extreme cases, fatalities.
With the Government’s forthcoming Railways Bill and plans to establish Great British Railways, there is a crucial opportunity to embed accessibility from the outset. RNIB is calling on ministers and transport bodies to make inclusive design and reliable assistance central to the new rail system.
The survey of nearly 1,200 blind and partially sighted people across the UK found that only 44% are reliably met by assistance staff at stations. Just 27% said they could rely on train staff to alert them if their train was stopping somewhere different from its planned destination.
The research also revealed significant barriers to accessing information. Many passengers reported difficulties using ticket machines, apps and websites, as well as navigating stations and trains due to inaccessible signage and poor guidance.
While 42% said they prefer to buy tickets from staff at a ticket office — twice as many as those who prefer using a smartphone app — nearly seven in 10 said they would benefit from tactile way-finding. This includes textured, colour-contrasted paths on station floors to guide passengers to platforms, lifts or staff assistance points.
Passengers also reported difficulties opening train doors (67%), finding the correct carriage (77%), finding a suitable seat (79%) and using on-board toilets (57%). More than half said poor-quality audio announcements made it hard to understand important travel information.
Erik Matthies, RNIB’s Policy Lead for Travel and Transport, who has sight loss, said many journeys remain unnecessarily stressful and unsafe. “Far too many people with sight loss are frequently stuck at stations unable to board or change trains, facing the stressful experience of having to seek help and locate platforms and carriages themselves,” he said.
“Blind and partially sighted people also have to contend with challenging ticket-buying methods, inaccessible stations and on-board facilities, and inconsistent gaps between trains and platforms, all of which contribute to anxious journeys.”
Paul Goddard (pictured), from East Sussex, who was registered blind in 2008 and regularly travels to London Bridge, said failures in the system have become routine. “Every time I book assistance through the passenger assistance app when I’m travelling to London Bridge, I’m very anxious because I know the assistance is going to fail. No one meets me,” he said.
“You speak to the gate line staff who are often completely disinterested and don’t even look up at you. They say, ‘sorry, didn’t know you were coming’. I tell them it’s on the app, but there’s a complete breakdown in the system. If you’re not met, you miss connections, and it’s very difficult to claim back the money you’ve lost on tickets. You can be left completely out of pocket. It’s completely unacceptable.”
The findings are published in RNIB’s new report, Platform for Change: making rail journeys more accessible for people with sight loss, which is available online.
rnib.in/travel-reports; sellingtravel.co.uk/hubs/accessible-travel/
