The Summer 2024 Paralympics just wrapped up, and the display of strength, inclusivity, and the power of accessibility was a beautiful thing to behold.
But the world still has a long way to go in the journey for true equity, respect, and accessibility for those with disabilities. This was proven true in the shocking treatment of 11-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson on a
recent train journey into London.
Grey Thompson uses a wheelchair, and when she was abandoned without assistance at her destination of King's Cross Station, she was forced to crawl off of the train.Sign the petition demanding that the Department for Transport (DfT) hold the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) responsible for this reprehensible treatment!Trains get us to our jobs. They allow us to see faraway friends and family. They provide convenient transportation alternatives to personal cars. They are a staple of UK travel, and yet
companies have utterly failed to make trains for everyone, boxing out disabled people and adding to the inequality they already face.LNER operates journeys to and from London and is owned by DfT via a holding company. Years ago, DfT issued countrywide deadlines that trains must be "step free by January 1 2020." And yet, in 2024,
a shocking amount of local governments and transportation services, such as LNER, have failed to meet those deadlines and therefore have put people with disabilities at risk.Grey-Thompson described being furious after the ordeal she was put through at King's Cross Station while also making the heartbreaking observation that things could have been much worse --
there are many disabled people who would not have been able to get themselves off the train as she had. The dignity and autonomy of disabled people are far too often stripped away in everyday instances like this one.DfT's failure to hold companies and services accountable to accessibility measures is completely unacceptable, and
leaves disabled people without the ability to travel freely and safely. The deadline of January 1 2020 has come and gone, and DfT has an obligation to not let another day go by while disabled people are kept from riding trains because of these delays.
Join us in demanding it holds UK transportation authorities accountable in providing step free trains for all! Sign the petition to add your voice to the fight.