UK: The effectiveness of the disability training received by rail staff and new models of raising awareness are to be studied by the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Community Rail Network, backed by funding from the Motability Foundation.
The two-year ‘On track for inclusive train travel: a model for engaging disabled people with rail workforce culture change’ project aims to help staff improve how they communicate with and assist disabled people, with the ultimate aim of making rail travel more inclusive.
The Motability Foundation awarded grant funding after its research found that insufficient staff assistance can be a barrier to rail use for many disabled people.
‘We want to uncover the challenges with existing models of raising disability awareness in the rail sector and pilot innovative ways of addressing these’, explained Nicola Gampell, Innovation Manager at the Motability Foundation, on February 26. ‘We hope that this can help to make rail journeys more accessible and inclusive for disabled people.’
The recommendations will be shared at the end of the project in 2026.
