I would like to remind you about the forthcoming Transport Focus Accessibility Forum.
Date: Wednesday 2nd October
Time: 12.40-4.30pm – Lunch and refreshments provided
Location: Meeting room G1, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London, EC4Y 8JX
The venue provides
• Step-free access between street and meeting room
• Accessible toilet
• Induction loop
Please find a map of the area attached.
There will be various talks on all manner of accessibility issues with speakers from the Rail Delivery Group, Department for Transport and Office of Rail and Road amongst others. Please note that on this occasion the Agenda will be wholly rail-based.
This is the last Forum before the 2020 deadline by which time rolling stock should either be fully accessible or have been exempted if certain elements of its layout/structure do not conform. In view of that, part of the early session is devoted to train accessibility.
We shall be holding workshops in the second part of the forum to discuss the nature of the difficulties which disruption causes to disabled people’s journeys and the steps which the rail industry needs to take to avoid these as far as possible. We will be seeking your views and experience of how the industry should best engage with disabled people and their representative organisations to minimise inconvenience in these situations.
We accept that infrastructure maintenance is a necessary part of running a safe and efficient railway. However, even the best-planned engineering works can make travelling more difficult for disabled people. These problems can be multiplied in cases of unexpected disruption: e.g. signals or points not working, ‘bridge bashes’, broken rails, derailments etc. Even when trains are running normally, station and on-train facilities may be unexpectedly unavailable: e.g. lifts or toilets out of use, which can have a major impact on disabled people’s journeys.
This will be a longer session than usual to accommodate the workshops and for this reason, we are providing a buffet lunch at 12.40. Please let us know of any specific dietary requirements.
Please advise us as soon as possible of your intention to attend so that we can cater suitably on . If you have any special needs please let us know immediately on so that we investigate whether they can be accommodated.
We look forward to seeing you on the day.
Siobhan O’Hagan
