1,500 vehicles fail to meet revised accessibility rules
DISPENSATIONS have been provided for on-going use of 1,500 rail vehicles which have either not been modified or not been replaced by new vehicles, according to information released by the Department for Transport on December 31.
Despite having had 10 years to prepare its stock to meet the new PRM (Person of Reduced Mobility) regulations, the industry has spectacularly failed to manage the task.
The non-compliant vehicles are operated by 11 train companies.
Disability rights campaigner Stephen Brookes, who is also rail sector champion for the Cabinet Office Disability Hub, said: “Many of my contacts, some from within the rail sector, have stated their shock and dismay at the number of companies and operators seeking access compliance dispensations from the January 1, 2020 deadline on accessible rail vehicles.
‘Failures’
“The scale of the failures demonstrates it is essential rail companies and stakeholders work face to face with disabled people, and the few train operators who have set up pan-disability user groups and training sessions are seeing the benefit of such relationships.
“The abject failure of the
2020 legislation dispensation demonstrates that too many companies do not actively engage.”
Behind the failure to have a fully accessible rail fleet are a number of reasons. One of the primary factors has been the delay introducing new rolling stock.
In some cases, manufacturing problems, particularly with train management software, has led to subsequent delays in acceptance testing and commissioning, which in turn has led to crew training while maintaining a normal service.
Modification of Mk3 carriages to fit sliding doors has been another factor, needing instead bespoke modifications for each vehicle as well as dealing with unexpected corrosion repairs.
An industry source told The RM planning perhaps could have been managed better, with an earlier start to modifications, but equally, no one foresaw a situation with so many problems where modifying stock would become protracted, limited to specific suppliers, nor brand new trains would have so many inherent software or manufacturing faults on brand new trains either.
These reasons, along with staffing and crew training issues, are behind the delays, and the need for dispensation.
Ignored
A plan by Porterbrook to spend £800,000 of its own money modifying ‘Pacer’
No. 144012 to be PRM compliant, along with a proposed modification plan for Mk3 carriages, has been ignored by Government.
In issuing the dispensations, rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris has said the industry’s failure to comply fully with new accessibility regulations is “extremely disappointing”.
He has written to Rail Delivery Group chief executive Paul Plummer, stating: “Owners and operators have had 10 years to prepare for the deadline.
“It is deeply frustrating disabled passengers will still be waiting into 2020 to see accessibility improvements to some services.”
By issuing dispensations – in some cases for 12 months – the DfT has also given each train operator a deadline for compliance or the removal of the unmodified fleet from service, with the rider that the operator must provide an update on progress towards meeting compliance every 28 days.
Train operators are running ‘dispensation’ units with compliant units to meet the legislation.
■ See feature on p27 that highlights some of the shameful treatment of passengers with disabilities.