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John Glover looks at the implications of the Disability Discrimination Act for stations Access all areas


the use of a wheelchair. Physical impairments include


blindness, deafness, paralysis or heart disease; mental impairments include people with learning diffi culties.


Works programmes


Upper Holloway station, seen here on 19 August 2011, lies in a cutting. Access from the street is by steps (above the top of the cab) or by the very long ramp. Note the short ramp from the waiting shelter to the platform, with protective handrails. Similar provision is made on the nearside platform. This is a London Overground station


n


It is axiomatic that a service to which you cannot gain access


is no service at all. So it is with railway stations, and the Equality Act 2010 requires all licensed station operators to take reasonable steps to ensure that they don’t discriminate against disabled people. This act updated and replaced earlier legislation, notably the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Department for Transport explains helpfully that the defi nition of ‘reasonable’, as used in the act, is civil rights based. What is (or is not) reasonable will be determined in due course by the courts. In the meantime, it has published more than 300 pages of guidelines on the subject. This is detailed stuff, with 19 pages on


PAGE 32 DECEMBER 2011


car parking, 35 on signs and 34 on toilets. There is also much to be said about platforms, stairs and the means of crossing the track, station announcements, waiting rooms and even bus replacement services.


Benefi ciaries


Who will benefi t? The underlying principle of the code is that whenever work takes place, the opportunity should be taken to improve accessibility. There are about 10 million people in Britain covered by the disability defi nitions, which are those that have ‘a substantial and long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. It should be stressed that this does not automatically imply


If there is a physical feature which makes it impossible – or is causing unreasonable diffi culty – for disabled persons to gain access, a way needs to be found to get around it. Examples are lift or ramp to platforms instead of stairs, warning surfaces at platform edges and aural, as well as visual, information systems including induction loops at ticket offi ce windows. Many of these features will already exist. If not, it is recognised that there is likely to be a cost attached. Some matters can be dealt with fairly easily and inexpensively, ramped access from street to platform often being one of them. Access between platforms,


especially island platforms, is far more diffi cult. Ramps for a subway, where provided, must not be of too steep a slope; many were provided in days past for parcels barrows, but may not be suitable for wheelchairs. However, the longer the slope,


the more platform space they occupy and the greater the problem for those with walking diffi culties. Practicability is also a relevant consideration.


Interoperability


About two thirds of stations in Britain are on the Trans-European Network (TEN), which means they have to comply with the Technical Standards for Interoperability for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM TSI). Others need to comply with


national (BSI) standards. Such requirements are of a similar nature, but far from identical. All these, plus


the Code of Practice, can be found in the one volume.


Escalators


Using escalators as an example, the European standards relate to a maximum speed and minimum levels of illumination. The national standards refer to signposting alternatives, signs showing the direction the escalator is travelling and handrails of contrasting colours. The Code of Practice discusses angle of inclination, step heights and so on, with a need to allow suffi cient space at top and bottom landings. It also stresses that escalators are not a substitute for stairs, and how they may need to be stopped by staff to allow someone to walk instead.


Wheelchairs


Importantly, transportable wheelchairs are defi ned, with a width of 700mm plus 50mm on each side for hands when moving, and a length of 1,200mm plus 50mm for feet. They must also comply with a turning circle of 1,500mm by 1,500mm.


This has implications for the ability to get in and out of lifts (or trains), and the general space reserved for their use. Larger ones are the responsibility of their owners. Finally, separate requirements apply to trains, and all heavy rail vehicles must be made accessible by not later than 1 January 2020.


Caption correction The caption on the locomotive picture on page 32 of the November issue describes an exhibit in the SRPS Museum. The Class 37 shown in the picture was being restored at the SRPS workshop.


John Glover


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