Assisted Travel (Accessibility)

The Office of Rail and Road has today published its study into how train operators at busy rail stations communicate and record requests by passengers for assistance. The study found that a dedicated staff app has proven beneficial, but there is much more scope to use data and the technology to make further improvements for passengers.

The Office of Rail and Road says redress claims for failed rail passenger booked assistance should always be assessed on a case-by-case basis, rather than based on ticket price, in a letter sent to the rail industry which seeks views on the proposal.

The Office of Rail and Road is asking for views on a new annual assessment, to be launched in 2025, that will rate the performance of how train companies provide assistance to disabled passengers.

Following ORR calling out its poor performance on reliability of its assistance to disabled passengers, train operator Northern has now provided the rail regulator with an acceptable action plan that sets out how they will improve passenger assistance.

Operators need to make improvements to their management of passenger help points at stations, says the rail regulator, after a report highlights poor reliability and monitoring of service quality, particularly for stations in England.

The rail regulator wants to see an improvement plan from the train operator, who again rated poorly in ORR’s latest survey about the experience of passengers who pre-booked additional assistance with their journey.