Train travel and the new wheelchair policy

When holidaying in the area our family often use the West Somerset Railway as part of a day out.

This year, for the first time, we were subjected to the WSR's new wheelchair policy.

We had already contacted the Railway to allow them to assess the wheelchair used by our son, Matt. The length of the wheelchair, in its normal travelling position, exceeds the maximum dimensions allowed under the newly introduced policy. Despite being around 170mm too long, they granted a three year permit-to-travel to my son. The conditions of the permission require a named carer to accompany Matt. The carer is also responsible for moving the chair at all times when on the Railway. Other conditions require a phone call to the Railway to ensure Matt can be carried on the chosen day and train.

Anyway. One rainy morning, a train trip seemed a good way of getting out of the house so we decided Matt and his Mum would make a single journey from Dunster to Bishops Lydeard. We duly rang the Railway and during a very pleasant conversation we were advised to speak to the Dunster Station staff who would show us where the brake van would stop so help speed the loading of the wheelchair. The man on the phone did not quiz us about the size of the wheelchair or ask if we had a permit, and he cheerily concluded with "We look forward to seeing you"

The Dunster staff were very helpful, as were the train staff and before long the train had arrived, everyone safely boarded, and the train was on its way. On board, Matt and his Mum joined two other wheelchair users and their carers, all making for Bishops Lydeard. Whilst we knew what the fare would be, the ticket inspector was not quite so sure, maybe the new policy had confuse him.

Now the brake van had three wheelchairs and things were a bit tight. Not helped by the two large bikes propped against the carriage wall and taking up as much space as a wheelchair. Not only were the bikes not strapped to the coach and therefore able to topple and injure someone quite unable to move quickly out of the way, but it seems there is no policy on the size of bikes nor on the safe carriage of bikes. So non-essential bikes are welcome without question; essential wheelchairs are subject to all manner of question, approval, pre-planned arrangements, provision of attendant carer and so on.

We planned a second train trip. It was to be an afternoon trip for all three of us. However, as most people find on the morning of the day, the weather looked better in the morning with rain promised for the afternoon. So we revised our plans. Good job we had not made elaborate arrangements with the Railway Company. Again, we phoned the Railway. We want to take the wheelchair from Watchet to Washford on the 11.59am from Watchet. This time the Railway man was not so sure whether we could go or not. "It's a Gala day" he said but did not explain how a "Gala day" would affect our plans.

As an afterthought, he asked if the wheelchair was "big". In our opinion it is not a big chair so we said "no". That answer was seemingly accepted. We were not asked if we had a permit.

We parked near Washford Station and enjoyed the Mineral Line Walk to Watchet. At Watchet Station we asked at the booking office for our tickets to Washford. There was a little confusion about the fares for wheelchair users and carers. but with a little help from us it was resolved. We were advised the Railway had brought in a new wheelchair policy and the Station staff had a brief discussion about whether Matt's chair was oversize or not. We broke into the conversation and said it was but it had been assessed by the Railway and that a permit had been issued. The Station staff then went on to tell us the reasons for bringing in the new policy, although we did not understand why the reasons applied to Matt.

It's fair to say the Station staff were very friendly and helpful although perhaps a little embarassed when dealing with the new policy and trying to explain why it was introduced. We were shown where to wait for the train and heard more about heavy wheelchairs and crushed toes of Station staff.

The brake van was packed. With standing passengers. It was a busy train. There were a couple of seats, occupied by "normal" passengers, who stayed put. Matt was unable to get to a window and spent the mercifully short journey to Washford surrounded by standing passengers.

The train staff were excellent and helped as much as they could in the circumstances.

So, how did the new wheelchair policy affect our trips? On the positive side, despite having a wheelchair that falls foul of the policy, we were able to travel. On the negative, the requirement to phone seemed pointless because the situation on the trains was not known to the guy on the phone who was therefore not able to give quality advice about space in the brake van.

Lots of mixed messages. Lots of confusion. Lots of embarassment on both sides.

Finally. The notices on blue A4 paper posted at Minehead bluntly suggest wheelchairs exceeding the maximum dimensions will not be carried. Our trips prove the blue notice statement is incorrect. And had we simply arrived at the Station, like many do, and then read the notice, we could so easily have turned away, feeling unwelcome, and not spent money on tickets and in the shops and cafes. And not have enjoyed a trip on a steam train. We'd advise the Railway to revise the wording on those blue notices.

Wheelchair users could be denied travel on West Somerset Railway

The WSR has introduced new policy for disabled visitors. It contains useful advice about which station facilities are suitable or not. It seems the "disabled", if they can show they are indeed "disabled", can get half fare travel, and their carer likewise. I'm not quite sure who on the WSR staff determines whether a visitor is "disabled" and who is a "carer". Personally, I think it would be better for the Railway to charge full fare and use the extra revenue to invest in better facilities on the trains and stations for those who find the present arrangement wanting. To be fair, the WSR has and is investing in better facilities. A little more cash might speed that work.

Now, the new policy has a particular fault which visitors using wheelchairs and motorised scooters do need to pay attention to. The policy lays down maximum dimensions on the trains for wheelchairs and motorised scooters - 1200mm long, 700mm wide, 1350mm high, 1200mm from floor to lap, 150mm from floor to top of shoe. The WSR have adopted the dimensions from UK and EU regulations for accommodating wheelchairs in new-build trains and other railway facilities. The regs do not apply to heritage railways. Furthermore, my research finds the regulations were based on the results of a consultation exercise which measured lots of wheelchairs but which failed to deliberately include a good representation of all users especially long-term wheelchair-bound adults, many of which cannot use the "reference wheelchair" as now specified in the regulations. So, we have a UK and EU regulation based on a flawed consultation exercise and now adopted by a heritage railway who, despite having their attention drawn, seem to want to ignore the faults and the inappropriateness of the regulations to their business.

The WSR say those who use "oversize" wheelchairs can ask for an "assessment" which, if successful, may allow them to travel. I have no idea, and the WSR have declined to explain, what processes the "assessment" uses, who carries it out, where it is carried out and when. I suspect the WSR have not even thought about it, yet.

The result is many wheelchair-users, perhaps including some regular WSR visitors, will find themselves barred from travelling on this heritage railway.

I know one wheelchair-bound user who has used the WSR trains since 1977 with no problem, incident or complaint (from either side) and who now find his wheelchair exceeds the maximum dimension by a few centimetres and technically cannot be carried. And that despite no change to the Railway infrastructure, no change to the ramps used to get the wheelchair on and off the train, no change to the accommodation inside the train. Nothing has changed. Except the rules. To me, that sounds like discrimination and could be challenged in court if someone felt so inclined.

Many representations have been made to the Railway asking for a rethink but it is clear from their replies that they have no intention of changing the maximum dimensions.

Like many folk who have a wheelchair-bound member of the family I remain positive and optimistic that one day the WSR will see the light and modify the policy to enable almost all wheelchair users to travel on the best heritage railway in the land.

A Facebook Group

"I travelled on the West Somerset Railway in 2010" is a Facebook group for those who plan to travel on Britain's longest heritage railway in 2010. Hopefully a ticket will be purchased! It would be nice to see a large membership of the group on Facebook and even better if many members can make at least one trip this year and help the Railway reach a record 250000 passengers in 2010. I suppose the key to success is to ensure many Facebook users join up. I'm not sure how that is done effectively but I'm sure every effort will be made. There are ten stations - Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe Heathfield, Stogumber, Williton, Doniford, Watchet, Washford, Blue Anchor, Dunster and Minehead. And lots to superb scenery along the twenty mile steam powered railway which runs from the Vale of Taunton Deane, through the gap between the Quantock Hills and the Brendon Hills, to the Bristol Channel coast at Watchet, Blue Anchor and Minehead, the gateway to Exmoor. See www.wsr.org.uk for more details.

Snow but no supertrain to the rescue this time

A rare snowfall in West Somerset led briefly to a few transport problems. Of course it was nothing like the blizzard of 1978. Then, everything stopped. Except a few folks on the West Somerset Railway at Minehead who steamed "Vulcan" which then ploughed through chimney-high drifts all the way to Bishops Lydeard. Over the next few days, the little train was the only effective transport between West Somerset and the rest of the world. Mailbags, hospital patients and folks just trying to get home were carried in style through the snowy landscape. The Railway did a good job and got a very good press for its troubles. The recent snowfall cold have provided a perfect repeat but there appeared to be no desire this time. To be fair the roads were re-opened quickly and with the Railway's infrastructure more complex than it was in 1978 movement of any train, emergency or not, involves more people and more equipment - getting folks to their workplaces and getting the signals and points unfrozen would have been a major task. Nevertheless, it would have been nice to see No 88, two coaches (one a buffet) and No 9351 at the rear, chugging through the snow-covered West Somerset countryside, doing what steam trains do best.

Nearest station to Minehead?

Well, the train ticket website thetrainline.com has a feature "Find the nearest station". Enter "Minehead" and you might expect to see the well-known and very much alive Minehead Station, the seaside terminus of the West Somerset Railway. Or even Taunton, perhaps. Not so, you get a map with a "You are here" flag stuck in Minehead and "Station" symbols at the South Wales towns of Llantwit Major and Rhoose, both across the Bristol Channel. Yes, nearest as the seagull flies but, heck, what a pathetic example of how not to use geographic information. Oh, I've just realised it's a Google Maps function, isn't it, so it's just another example of how poor these "maps" actually are. One day someone will lose their lives by relying on such trash. OK, OK. They do serve a purpose as a general locational tool at the smaller scales (that's the road atlas scales, not the detailed scale, folks). But using the data for intelligent queries - well, I ask you! And just how is the user of thetrainline.com website supposed to get from Llantwit Major to Minehead? Catch a train of course - probably back the way you came. It's rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. Come on thetrainline.com - wake up!

Geocaching

Without giving the location away, I must report an recent interesting encounter with two enthusiastic "geocachers". Geocaching is an activity which involves one party placing a small box or container, the "cache", in a hidden spot and listing a series of clues and coordinates on a geocaching website. Other geocachers then set out to find the cache. When found, the finders often leave a small object in the container and take one away.

The two enthusiasts, armed with the details and a GPS, were certainly in the right area and homing in on their target, which happened to be a structure within the railway fences. They had crossed the fence and made their way along the tracks towards said structure. I happened to be there, with permission, for photography purposes. Since two trains were due - we could hear them - I felt I had better have a word or two.

We had a brief and constructive chat, I pointed out they should not be on the railway, they agreed, we had a very quick look for the cache, found nothing. I suggested the cache is probably accessible from the other side of the railway fence. They agreed and off they went back over the fence. I did ask them to contact the cache placer and ask for a warning word to be place on the website page.

As it happens, I contacted the placer, who responded very quickly and responsibly. And I would like to thank him for that swift action. I'd also like to thank him for advising folks to travel on the Railway when they go out looking for his caches.

Rail grinding grinds on

The much awaited report on the so called "wheel/rail interface" problems that beset the West Somerset Railway in 2008 has finally been published. Two documents are being made available to working members and shareholders (not sure about WSRA members though). The bulky document is a report by David Holmes, a consultant engineer, brought in by WSR Plc Vice Chairman David Morgan to investigate the technical issues. The other is a summary by David Morgan, who headed the committee/group charged with looking into the whole episode.

The reports contain most of what folks expect, touching mostly on technical and management. And there are a few lessons learned, notably that works involving third parties should be subject to proper contractual procedures including proper inspection of work done. acceptance and closure, all of which were, incredibly, not done when the rails were treated.

I am not a lover of the phrase "lessons learned" which I hear so often these days - as if it is OK to make and write off mistakes in the pursuit of excellence. Not good enough for 99.9% of what we expect from competent folk.

It's not a "whitewash" but to me because it falls short of explaining exactly how it was allowed to happen. Because it needs to deal with the comptencies and ambitions of people central to the issues. Which is a management problem and not part of the remit.

Delegation was employed to the point of severance of any monitoring. Which, as any scholar of railway building in the 1800s will know, leads only to failure and wasted money.

Interestingly, the reports side-step the question of how much money has been lost.

There seems to be a ground swell of desire to put all this behind us. Fair enough. But only if we can be sure it will not happen again.

We shall see if lessons have, indeed, been learned.