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Friday, March 20, 2015

Accessible Rail Travel

I am campaigning in the UK to make rail travel more accessible for blind and disabled people, for example all of the Rail Companies e.g. Virgin, Arriva, National Express, First Scotrail and the other companies have the buttons all in different positions.

Here’s an example: In the toilets, buttons in the same position have different functions on different trains. In one train a button might open the door, but in another train the button will do something different. I personally know two people who were trapped in the toilet and required assistance to escape. Even more extreme, I know a gentleman that pressed the emergency button by mistake and stopped the whole train.

I was hoping my colleagues in the UK would contact their Westminster MPs, Minister of Transport and the Association of Train Operating Companies to ask that all the buttons be relocated in the same order, have contrasting colours, and even an audible signal. This would help give blind and visually impaired people more independence and make travelling by rail more stress free.

I am looking for cross-party support for this campaign and have set up an e-petition on the government website. The petition can be found here:


Many Thanks,


Alex Scott MBE

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