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RBD Community debut event hailed a success and the first of many
Industry experts discuss the accessibility of stations at RBD Community’s networking event
Access to the railways should be inclusive of everyone regardless of a person’s impairment and everyone should have the same opportunity to use public transport services that most of us take for granted.
This is particularly important when there are 13.9 million disabled people in the UK who want to travel for work or leisure, and it is predicted that by 2050 one in four people in the UK will be aged 65 years or over, which brings its own challenges and complexities.
In July of last year, the government announced initiatives to remove barriers and improve confidence for disabled travellers as they return to public transport after the COVID-19 pandemic with an audit of all UK train stations, originally pledged in the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, now under way. This forms part of the Inclusive Transport Strategy announced in 2018.
Collaborative network Key to the approach in solving this challenge is collaboration between passengers, government departments, supply chain innovators, architects and transport operators, which is why RBD Community – hosting its first networking event – brought together experts in the field to discuss strategy and progress that is being made in making stations accessible for everyone.
“Everyone should have equal access to the railways,” said Eli Rees-King, Head of RBD Community. “Listening to the speakers, it was evident that there is fierce determination by all parties involved to create a railway that is fit for all to use with collaboration playing a central role in achieving improvements.
“There is some incredible work going on and great progress has been made in recent years to improve accessibility, but there is still a long way to go.
“What particularly struck a chord with me was when Gordon McCullough, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers, spoke of a shift in society mindset around accessibility and how this has become much more than a legislative exercise with a desire rooted in the heart of community to make rail travel possible for everyone.”
Impressive membership RBD Community, part of Rail Business Daily, was launched in June 2021 and now boasts a membership of more than 1,000 rail companies and supply chain partners.
The networking event in Manchester last year brought together nine rail industry experts from organisations ranging from train operating companies, government departments, regional transport authorities, innovators and architects.
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The event aimed to provide clarity around policies governing accessibility and how this translates into action and progress in making stations accessible for all who use them, and also the challenges still to be resolved.
Cat Dowell, Rail Programme Sponsor at Transport for Greater Manchester, got proceedings under way, discussing the blueprint for equality to improve accessibility and the vision of accelerating work to remove barriers to rail travel in the region.
Next up was the Rail Delivery Group’s Accessibility and Inclusion Manager Dominic Lund-Conlon, who spoke of the importance of customer experience. He said: “The journey for our customers starts well before the station and will finish as a memory that can last for years.”
Importance of inclusive design It led neatly to the presentation by Craig Alexander, Travel and Integration Accessibility Manager at Northern Trains, who spoke of an importance of ‘lived experience’ being at the heart of their decision making.
“If we want accessible station portfolio, we’re going to have to work together – it is imperative,” he said.
The first half was concluded by Chris Watkins, Senior Consultant Access and Inclusive Environments, Arup, who stressed the importance of inclusive design beyond accessibility for disabled people.
Design was the subject for the opening session of the second session, with Gary Seed, Director of Seed Architects, addressing the importance of surveys and data and going beyond the standards.
The event sponsor GDS Technology then took to the floor with Rene Blamey, Regional Leader (UK), talking about improving accessibility through better displays, highlighting the success of its all-in-one information and help point systems in Switzerland, and e-paper displays in Germany.
He was followed by Daisy Chapman Chamberlain, Rail Lead at Innovate UK KTN, who looked at tech innovations and the important role of Community Rail in helping to drive positive changes.
Next Gordon McCullough, CEO at the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers, highlighted the group’s work in inclusive research providing surveys, workshops and assessing the accessibility, usability and standards of customer service of different train operating companies.
He explained the importance of creating a good travel experience on board, but also on websites. It was during his talk that he mentioned one panel member who the company had helped to make a rail journey, which gave him “a lot more courage” to travel by train.
“I don’t think people should have to have courage to travel on trains and the right thing to do is to make sure they are designed for everybody,” he said.
Concluding the first event was Jonathan Howard, GRP Sales Manager at Dura Composites, highlighting the company’s rail credentials and particularly its Glass Reinforce Polymer.
Commenting on the event’s success, Rene from GDS Technology said: “GDS was very proud to sponsor the RBD Community networking event and I was honoured to speak at the event and offer some insights into how we are making our displays across Europe more accessible for all.
Unique insights “The guest speakers, who originated from a variety of key stakeholders and industry leads, presented some unique insights into national projects and localised initiatives that will help improve the engagement potential and experiences between disabled passengers and rail travel.
“The lived experiences, specialist knowledge and deep passion expressed by the speakers and attendees was clear to see, as were the ways in which developing communication forums and new technologies are helping to bridge the existing gaps in the goal of accessibility for all.”
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