Assistance and access for disabled people at railway stations

That this House is gravely concerned by the challenges disabled people face in getting support at railway stations, particularly in rural constituencies such as Yeovil; expresses alarm at the absence of available assistance staff in stations such as Yeovil Pen Mill; notes with concern that only one in four train stations have step free access, that only 2% have level boarding, that at 67% of stations the platforms are too narrow for wheelchairs to turn, and that around 40% of rail stations have no tactile paving which is a vital safety feature for blind and visually impaired people; strongly believes that these people should have the same access to railway stations as able-bodied passengers and should not be at risk of accidents; acknowledges that many find the booking systems for requesting support staff difficult to access and use; also notes that inaccessible stations and a lack of support staff also pose challenges for parents with buggies and the elderly; and calls on the government to improve accessibility and support for disabled people on our railways, such as by improving the Access for All programme to deliver more projects, more rapidly, and by holding operators like Great Western Railway to account.