Don’t mind the gap: level boarding commitment for new trains
Disabled passengers and families are set to benefit from unassisted level boarding as the standard on new Great British Railways (GBR) trains.
This means passengers with disabilities, mobility difficulties and others who need assistance, such as parents with pushchairs and those travelling with luggage, will benefit from much easier journeys, giving everyone more freedom to travel independently.
This commitment is part of the wider drive to improve accessibility across the rail network as nationalisation removes the barriers that stop operators and Network Rail working together to reach solutions that best meet passenger needs.
The government is investing £280 million in step-free access through the Access for All programme, with over 30 schemes now underway across England, Scotland and Wales.
This builds on last year’s Roadmap to an Accessible Railway, which set out improvements to day-to-day travel for passengers needing assistance ahead of GBR’s establishment.
Great British Railways will set an expectation that new trains are designed to reduce barriers between train carriages and standard Network Rail platforms.
Following the government taking a coordinated approach for the first time in 30 years, through the new rolling stock and infrastructure strategy which sees GBR overseeing decisions on trains, track, depots and maintenance as part of the government’s wider drive to put essential services back in public control.
In most cases, this is not expected to add any significant costs towards the trains, as they will be designed to provide unassisted level boarding at standard Network Rail platform heights, from the outset.