Association of Train Operating Companies – Supplementary Written Evidence (EQD0174)
Further to the evidence session I attended on 3rd November 2015, I thought it would be helpful if I submitted the following information to assist the Committee’s enquiry into the working of the Equality Act. Please feel free to seek clarification concerning any of the points that follow should the need arise.
The legal framework around rail accessibility
Whilst the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 extended the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to rail both the 2005 legislation and the Equality Act failed to appreciate the complex regulatory framework that applies to the sector.
The Railways Act (1993) obligates rail operators and station facilities operators to document their policies and practices in respect of disabled passengers. Operators must have a Disabled Persons Protection Policy (DPPP – and referred to as ‘D triple P’ in the parlance of the industry) in place as a condition of their licence to operate. The DPPP details policy and practice information around areas such as passenger assistance, staff training and so forth. DPPPs are regulated by the Office for Road and Rail Regulator and Operators must submit DPPPs for review on an annual basis.
The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 established a deadline by which all rolling stock must be accessible. This was set as 1st January 2020. There is no deadline for station accessibility. The initial regulations around rail vehicle accessibility, the Rail Vehicle Access Regulations (RVAR), were produced as part of the regulatory framework in relation to Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Concurrently design standards for station accessibility were initially established by Department for Transport through a Stations Code of Practice.
In 2007 the UK regulations were superseded and replaced by pan European legislation in the form of the Technical Standard on Interoperability for Passengers with Reduced Mobility (commonly referred to as the PRM TSI). Both station design standards and rolling stock standards have incorporated PRM TSI. At a European level the GB 2020 deadline is unique, no other member state has established this arrangement through legislation.
Rail use by passengers with disabilities.
There are a number of sources of data that can be used to assess the numbers of journeys made by passengers with disabilities.
Passenger Focus undertakes twice yearly surveys amongst rail passengers (the National Passenger Survey) and disabled passengers are asked to self-declare. Estimates from these surveys indicate that there are approximately 70 million journeys per annum journeys made by passengers with disabilities each year.
Data is also available from journeys made by Disabled Persons Railcard (DPRC) holders. DPRC is a restricted product aimed at those disabled passengers who face the greatest difficulty when travelling. In 2005 there were approximately 1.5m journeys made by DPRC holders. Latest data from DPRC indicates that there are now 5.5m journeys per annum made by the same group of passengers. This suggests that more disabled passengers are using rail and that there is growing confidence that the rail network will successfully support passengers to make journeys.
Finally data is also available through the Passenger Assist booking system. This indicates that there are currently approximately 1.2m journeys each year where assistance is pre-booked.
Access to rail stations.
There are 2516 stations on the GB rail network. Approximately 50% of stations are accessible. The rail sector defines accessibility as meaning that there is level access between all platforms from at least one principle entrance. This does not mean that there is level access between all platforms. However passengers should be able to navigate barrier free routes at stations even if this route is not the same direct route that a non-disabled passenger would take.
Since 2007 the Department for Transport (DfT) have invested £600 m in improving access to stations via the Railways for All programme. This has resulted in an additional 200 stations being provided with level access. A further 1200 stations have had work undertaken to address smaller minor projects, for example, the provision of accessible toilets. In addition major station refurbishments, such as those undertaken at Birmingham New Street, have seen projects delivered in line with PRM TSI requirements. PRM TSI applies to all works undertaken in passenger facing areas of the station.
Funding for Railways for All is not guaranteed for the future and extends to the end of the current Network Rail funding period in 2018. It is essential that this budget continues.
Rolling Stock
As mentioned earlier there is a deadline by which all GB rolling stock has to be accessible. This is 1st January 2020.
Fleet in GB is not owned by Train Operators but leased from rolling stock companies (ROSCOs). The DfT have been working with ROSCOs in the run up to the 2020 deadline. They have adopted a targeted compliance strategy which focuses on the key requirements for existing trains.
New trains have to comply with the rolling stock requirements contained within the PRM TSI. In addition any refurbishment work which takes place on trains also has to comply with PRM TSI. The 2020 deadline established in 2005 worked on a number of key assumptions, including the replacement of existing rolling stock happening at a quicker rate. However in some instances delays have occurred as regard to the procurement of new fleet. For example the replacement of the current HST units operating on the East Coast mainline and West Country network is several years behind schedule. New units are due to be placed in service in 2018. We estimate that approximately 97% of fleet will meet the Equality Act deadline and will be accessible by 1st January 2020. The remaining non-compliant units will be brought up to accessibility standards as soon after this date as possible.
The point was raised at our hearing regarding audio visual information. Approximately 63% of trains currently have electronic Passenger Information Systems installed and on-board audio announcements. As I mentioned during questioning the challenge remains in relation to other transport modes. There is a danger that on an individual mode level the quality of provision in rail will outstrip that in connecting transport modes. This is a matter of concern as few passengers start their journeys in rail stations but instead are reliant on good access to the pedestrian environment and other transport modes as part of their overall journey.
Franchising
We are discussing with the DfT how their responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty can be better addressed through the franchising process. Currently accessibility matters are referenced in the franchise bidding process but not scored. Discussions with Franchise bidders have indicated that they are not adverse to Equality Act obligations being referenced in the Franchise bidding process. Problems arise when contracts are let and then retrospectively additional expectations are placed upon Franchise holders concerning the duties that they are expected to perform.
The franchising process determines all aspects of the operational delivery of rail services, including notice periods for Passenger Assistance. We have seen in recent franchises, for example for C2C, the lowering of the advance notification period for assistance, from 24 hours down to 4 hours.
Assistance
The vast majority of people with disabilities do not pre-book assistance when using rail. The current recommendation for advance booking is based upon pre-agreed franchise conditions and these are subject to the franchise bidding and negotiation process. A number of operators have accepted shorter booking horizons as part of new franchise arrangements. For example C2C now operate on a 4 hour advance booking period whilst London Overground operate their network on a turn up and go basis.
The ability to pre-book assistance fits with Operators obligations to provide auxiliary aids and services in line with the requirements of the Equality Act. On average those who book assistance make their requests 15 days ahead of their journey. Pre-booking is not insisted upon. Pre-booking enables:
Notification messages to be sent to station and on-train staff in advance of the journey.
Staff to be deployed at unstaffed stations or alternative arrangements to be made.
Taxis or other alternative transport to be booked if either the departure or destination station is not accessible or is unstaffed.
Journey logic to be checked to ensure that a passenger journey can be completed.
ATOC and our members recognise that there is an increasing demand from passengers who need assistance to be able to travel more spontaneously. For this to happen requires
The departure and arrival station, and any intermediate stations where passengers are changing, are staffed and have staff available at the time when a passenger is making their journey (less than 40% of stations meet this requirement at all times).
That departure and arrival stations, and intermediate stations are accessible with level access between a station entrance and all platforms (just over 50% of stations meet this requirement).
If the passenger is a wheelchair user that the wheelchair space is available for the whole length of their journey.
That receiving stations can be advised of the passenger’s presence on board the service so that assistance can be delivered (if needed) at the next stage of their journey
If on board assistance is required that the train is staffed (a third of trains have no staff available).
If the passenger is not able to join a particular train or service that service frequency is such that the wait will not be too long (possibly a subjective judgement).
Further improvements to the technology that supports the Passenger Assistance booking system have enabled some of the above factors to be better addressed. For example we are in the process of rolling out a Staff App that enables station and train staff to check the availability of the wheelchair space for the entire route of a journey. Other aspects though are less easy to address. For example the lack of available accessible taxis, due to the absence of national taxi licensing requirements that all local authorities ensure the availability of accessible taxis, means that alternative passenger transport is not always easy to procure at short notice.
Despite the above we remain committed to exploring ways in which we can support as many disabled passengers as possible to utilise rail as effectively as possible. As mentioned in the hearing we continue to explore ways in which we can deliver better options for disabled passengers, such as the current London Turn Up and Go trial. There is, however, a much bigger challenge of ensuring that passengers understand the assistance that is available and are better able to take advantage of this.
The European Dimension
Despite the many challenges, not least of which is the fact that our station infrastructure is predominantly Victorian, in 2012 GB rail was assessed as being the most accessible in Europe by the European Commission. A number of factors contributed to this assessment.
The Access for All programme is the largest programme of its kind in the EU and is delivered to consistently high standards.
The 2020 deadline for rolling stock access is not replicated elsewhere.
Passenger Assistance is available at all stations across the GB network (many EU railway undertakings limit assistance to High Speed lines or to larger stations).
Innovations, such as Stations Made Easy, provide high quality information to passengers about station access.
This does not mean that we are complacent or not committed to making further improvements. There is a growing expectation amongst disabled passengers and disability advocacy organisations that the positive progress delivered so far will continue in the future.
I trust that the Committee finds the above information helpful and I will be happy to clarify any of the points covered above in more detail if necessary.
Yours sincerely
David Sindall
Head of Disability & Inclusion
Association of Train Operating Companies
10 November 2015