‘Anxious and unsafe’: Half of blind people fear being stranded at train stations

Paul Goddard has to get a train to London Bridge next week, and already he is feeling anxious about what might happen. 

It’s a journey 53-year-old Mr Goddard, who is blind, makes regularly, but one that fails him every single time.

Having been let down so often by rail passenger assistance, he usually feels nervous, unsafe, and overwhelmed. His journeys are often uncertain, and he has been left stranded in an empty, dark train in the past.

In a report released on Thursday, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) found that half of blind and partially sighted people fear being left stranded at train stations, feeling stressed and disoriented due to the unpredictability of their experiences with passenger assistance.

open image in gallery

Based on a survey of nearly 1,200 blind and partially sighted individuals, the charity found that three in four respondents reported being unable to rely on rail staff for assistance and information. 

More than 60 per cent said they are not consistently met by staff when they had booked passenger assistance and just 27 per cent felt they could rely on staff to tell them if the destination of their train changed. 

The findings are unsurprising to Mr Goddard, who says he is constantly failed by the assistance meant to help navigate stations and board trains.

He said: “It's incredibly dangerous and it makes me very anxious when I'm travelling. I can't relax, I'm thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, am I going to be met?’ And then when I'm pulling into London Bridge, I think, ‘here we go’, and you shouldn't be left feeling like that.” 

open image in gallery

Last Thursday, the Department for Transport announced it was cancelling its plans to make access step-free at 19 stations. It is another example of the government’s lack of willingness to understand the problems that blind passengers experience every day, Mr Goddard said.

“I think that any form of cancellation for accessibility is a step backwards and shows a complete lack of respect for disabled passengers,” he said.

Delays, unreliable assistance, poor quality announcements, or platform changes can all cause journeys to go awry for blind passengers, Mr Goddard said.  

“You can't guarantee anything. It would be great to be able to be like everyone else and get on a train, get off it, and have had a pleasant journey and not have to worry about what's going to happen when you get there.” 

Mr Goddard knows firsthand that this is possible, as he has seen at stations like Crowborough or East Croydon.

open image in gallery

Blind disability campaigner Lucy Edwards, who lost her vision when she was 17, used to feel sick about leaving her front door, and would sometimes cry herself to sleep after experiencing a difficult train journey.

Ms Edwards, who is now 30, knows firsthand what it is like to be stranded at a station, and will often book trains two hours in advance to account for something going wrong. 

“Only one chink in the system has to fall and you can't get on the train,” she said.

“I genuinely feel so frustrated because I'm such an independent person. I feel like the train for me is one place where I just really don't feel like myself, because I have to give up that independence to someone else.”

The recent findings from RNIB were “completely and totally accurate”, Ms Edwards said. 

open image in gallery

Ms Edwards believes that all train stations need tactile lines, which are textured ground surfaces to help people navigate. According to the report, 68 per cent of people agreed that this would benefit them.

The government's decision to cancel 19 step-free access stations told Ms Edwards it is “okay for wheelchair users and guide dog users to be stranded on trains,” she said.

“It says we're okay for disabled people to be late to meetings, to be late to work. It says that we don't support disabled people, and we don't necessarily value them as a functioning part of our society.” 

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The findings in this survey highlight how important reliable assistance is for blind and partially sighted passengers.

“Everyone should be able to travel safely and with dignity, which is why we are working with the rail industry to strengthen passenger assistance, investing almost £280m in step-free access and lifts.”