Sense and accessibility
Many people had a say in the design of Greater Anglia’s new fleet. Disabled rail user DOMINIC LUND-CONLON reveals how that input is being incorporated into the new units
GA incorporates the input of disabled users in the design of its new fleet.
During the consultation process for its new trains, Greater Anglia (GA) sought feedback from a number of different stakeholders. More than 1,000 people gave their input into the new trains, which will enter traffic with GA from 2019, replacing all the operator’s existing units.
The company invited various groups to Crown Point, in Norwich, to visit a mock-up of the trains to be built by Stadler in Switzerland.
Attending special tours were groups such as Greater Anglia’s customer panels, the Stakeholder Advisory Board, rail user groups, local authorities, Chambers of Commerce, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Community Rail Partnerships and cycling groups, including the GA Cycle Forum.
Rail passenger bodies such as Transport Focus and London Travelwatch, plus disability groups and the Department for Transport have also been involved and consulted during the process.
And for GA there has been particular emphasis on ensuring the trains meet the required standards for disabled passengers or people for whom access is an issue.
Of course, there is the Persons of Reduced Mobility - Technical Specifications for Interoperability (PRM-TSI) deadline of January 1 2020 to consider, but GA has already proved its determination to make its trains more accessible through its Class 321 Renatus refurbishment.
Dominic Lund-Conlon is Essex County Council’s Public Transport Officer. Based in Chelmsford, he’s a regular rail user, both for work and leisure. He’s also wheelchairbound.
At the launch of the GA Class 321 last December ( RAIL 817), he enthused to RAIL about the quality of the train for wheelchair users, but also spoke about how the operator was planning to fly him to Switzerland to help with the design of the interior for the new stock. And as this issue of RAIL went to press, he was due to visit Derby Litchurch Lane to help with the Class 720 Aventras on order for GA, for which the design will be finalised in November. For his trip to Switzerland, he travelled with Terri Sawkins (from Essex Cares Ltd’s Sensory Team) who is visually impaired. As Lund-Conlon says, it is not just about access for disabled passengers, but for those with limited vision, hearing or mental well-being.
He tells RAIL: “As far as I am aware, this is the first time there has been such early engagement with an operator.”
He says that necessary changes for the new Stadler trains have been identified already. “They showed me the toilet and it didn’t work. Immediately, I could see that the buttons were in the wrong position. It helps them to have someone with that experience. That little bit of information can improve the train for a lot of people.”
He points out that designers are now looking to give everyone the right travel experience.
“Attention to small details, such as allowing enough room to turn wheelchairs around, can make a huge difference. And if disabled passengers enjoy the experience then they are going to want to come back.”
He says that GA is not the only operator to have improved the travelling experience for disabled passengers, citing Virgin Trains’ and East Midlands Trains’ recently refurbished Class 158s.
“Greater Anglia is using the image of
passengers being with their families in its marketing, which links in with its return to core values. They have stopped, listened and considered what passengers want and need. The fact that they are getting it right at every stage shows that they value us.”
He also praises the clear and concise way in which the operator has engaged with the passengers it has consulted: “They spoke to passengers in plain English. They focused on them and their requirements, and that is sometimes easy to overlook.”
The issue of access is one that has been brought to the fore by the industrial action on Southern. A report by the Rail Delivery Group, written in May 2015 but never officially released, was published by the Association of British Commuters (ABC). The report, On Track for 2020? The Future of
Accessible Rail Travel was released by ABC because the group believed “every disabled and older citizen in the UK has the right to be informed of its contents.
In it, the report predicts that by 2037 around a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65 or over, and that some 5.7 million disabled adults will be of working age.
The report stated that some 44% of all stations are completely unstaffed and a further 45% are unstaffed at some times during the day. It highlights from the McNulty report, published in 2011, that: “The default position for all rail services on GB Rail network should be DOO [driver only operation] with a second member of train crew only being provided when there is a commercial, technical or other imperative.”
Lund-Conlon says of the report: “I can recognise each person has a challenge they need to overcome. It’s a challenge for us across the UK. For example, rules say I need a ramp. To be fair, Greater Anglia will always get me to where I’m going. One night I was at Braintree, and so I tweeted them that I was stuck, and they sent someone. Little things like that help.”
He says that ideally there would be level access everywhere. For the new trains, while he admits there must always be a compromise, he says GA will always try to make the trip comfortable and believes most passengers with access issues will be satisfied.
But is the level of work being carried out by train operating companies over the top, in terms of the investment versus the number of passengers affected?
Lund-Conlon doesn’t think so: “It’s about keeping people independent. People going out encourages well-being. Can you put a price on that?
“It’s not OTT, it’s about an entire section of society that is part of a much bigger picture.”
On accessibility, he says that overall, rail does “pretty well” against buses, but there are challenges. “The part that requires the human is the challenge. That’s the last step off the train, or the first step onto the train.”
He believes the low-floor Stadler trains will be a huge benefit for disabled
They spoke to passengers in plain English. They focused on them and their requirements, and that is sometimes easy to overlook. Dominic Lund-Conlon, Public Transport Officer, Essex County Council
passengers. “That’s the biggest thing for me. These are a real game-changer.”
However, currently only almost 20% of GA’s stations will be step-free. Lowfloor trains enable access, he says. It’s the ability to get on and off the train easily that encourages passengers to travel.
Transport is important for the disabled communities, he says. “You meet people. As we become a society that considers how people can live their lives, this level of engagement is brilliant.
“This isn’t lip service, this is about getting it right. A train might be designed to be used for 25 years. My contribution is small, but if I board a train and see the changes that I suggested being used, I will be chuffed.” ■