DISABLED DENIED RAIL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2019 :: RMTnews 5 D isabled people are being denied access to trains at more than 1,000 stations across Britain because private operators put profits first, a damning study has revealed. Disability charity Leonard Cheshire analysed data from the Office of Rail and Road, which revealed which stations do not have full disability access. It emerged that over 40 per cent of the country’s 2,560 stations do not have full step- free access. To make matters worse, rail privateers are sacking station staff and train guards in the pursuit of higher profits, even though these staff are needed to help disabled passengers. The charity said that train operators were “barring disabled people from travelling independently”. Leonard Cheshire is calling on the government and rail companies to make all stations fit for use by disabled people. RMT, which is staging weekly strikes at train operators Northern and South Western Railway in defence of safety- critical guards, said that the revelations were “a shameful wake-up call for the whole industry”. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the companies should immediately cancel plans to sack guards and station staff. “The people paying the price for these cuts-led decisions are the most vulnerable in our society, who are being denied the right to travel in total contravention of disability discrimination legislation. “Guards and station staff are crucial in delivering a safe and accessible railway for all and social media is awash with the appalling stories of those who have been left stranded because there was nobody to help them as numbers are hacked back by greedy train companies. It is time for that scandal to end,” he said. running dispute on South Western Railway came solely as a result of the company’s intransigence against reaching a negotiated settlement that would underpin the guard guarantee on its trains. “South Western Railway stubbornly refuses to make any progress at all in resolving this dispute, which is about safety, security and access on South Western Railway. “The company is hell bent on opening up a loophole that would allow them to run services driver only at their discretion. “Recent figures have shown a shocking surge in violence on our railways across the festive season and it is frankly appalling that South Western Railway is looking for a green light to throw the guard off their trains as and when they see fit in the name of profit. "SWR might think it’s acceptable to play fast and loose with passenger safety, security and access but RMT members, who have stood firm throughout this dispute despite appalling harassment from the company, will not accept a dilution of the safety regime on the railway. “There's a simple solution to this dispute and it means SWR stop playing with words and negotiate the guard guarantee that reflects the safety values of the agreements RMT has pinned down in other parts of the rail industry,” he said. DISABLED DENIED RAIL Skipton Manchester Newcastle Fratton Portsmouth Wigan