Wheelchair users and passengers with mobility difficulties face more than delays and cancellations on the rail network.
And access to TransPennine Express services is also about to get harder for some.
Anne Ramsden captured just how difficult it currently is – she took this photograph showing a person having to take a giant step up to get onto a train at Marsden Railway Station.
Marsden man Barney Stevenson shared it on Twitter and wrote: “Train users in Marsden have a big hill to climb to access the new @TPExpressTrains service to Manchester, once they have managed to get down the staircase, which is the only means of reaching the platform, that is.”
And difficult access is not going to be confined to Marsden either – the Disability News Service say that leaked documents show that wheelchairs will not be able to travel on 12 of the 34 services to and from Liverpool and Scarborough. While the trains affected won't stop in the Colne Valley, they will call at Manchester stations plus Huddersfield Railway Station.
Colne Valley MP Thelma Walker said “everyone should have accessible trains and stations” and said she’d add it to the list of questions she’d be asking Transport Secretary Chris Grayling about during a Monday night meeting, arranged in the wake of the timetable chaos.
The latest access issues come on top of existing access issues at Marsden, with platforms 1 and 2 accessible by steep steps and it’s now made harder with the giant step up.
Plus the introduction of Mark 3 trains in July means some services will run without wheelchair or cycle provision from Huddersfield.
It’s claimed if a wheelchair user wants to board a service that is using the Mark 3 coaches, they will be told to catch the next available accessible train instead. If two consecutive trains are inaccessible, TPE will pay for a taxi to their destination.
The main rail workers’ union accused TransPennine Express (TPE) of flouting disability discrimination legislation.
MP Mrs Walker added: “I am aware of the issues that disabled passengers are facing when trying to get a train at Marsden station, and I have been working closely with ward councillor, Clr Rob Walker, and disability campaigner, Craig Grimes, to try and address some of these issues.
“I have raised concerns with TransPennine, Northern and with Network Rail managers previously, and I have been told that disabled access will be improved through accessibility assessments in line with route upgrades.”
Mrs Walker added on the lack of accessible trains: “The recent announcement by TransPennine that disabled people should wait for the next train is wholly unacceptable.
“I will be raising the issue with the Secretary of State for Transport, when I meet with him tonight (Monday), and with the rail companies later in the week.”
A spokesperson for TransPennine Express confirmed that wheelchair access would not be available on 12 services in total per day - six in each direction, from July to autumn.
They said: “From July we are planning to operate two extra trains, each with four carriages on the route between Liverpool, Manchester Victoria, Leeds and Scarborough. These trains are being used in passenger service on a limited and temporary basis to provide extra seats for customers and to support driver training ahead of the introduction of the first of our brand new Nova trains later this year.
“The carriages have previously been used by other train companies and feature doors that need to be manually opened and closed.
“The design and layout of these carriages means that unfortunately, in contrast to our current trains, they do not have adequate access for customers who use wheelchairs and may prove more difficult to access for some customers with reduced mobility or disabilities.
"We know this isn’t ideal, however these will be the only two trains in our entire fleet that are unable to offer high levels of access and they are planned to be used on a small number of services for a limited period of time.
"Staff briefing is taking place and we will be providing additional information on our website, in leaflets at our stations and to all the assisted travel teams to enable customers to plan their journeys using our more accessible fleets.”
Northern and TransPennine Express services were altered last month, but it left services delayed or cancelled before another new timetable was introduced on Monday.
Northern revealed it would temporarily axe a further 165 trains from Monday, amounting to 6% of its daily service, and trains from Huddersfield to Manchester – passing through Slaithwaite, Marsden and Greenfield – will operate changed timetables all this week.
