Justin Smith
Member
I found out today that I was unable to buy a ticket on the train from Chapeltown using our Family Railcard. The guard told me there may not be a ticket office but there is a ticket machine so I must buy my ticket before boarding, or at least get a "permit to travel" and then buy my ticket on the train. This was the first time I had heard of this as I always buy my tickets on the train when travelling from Chap and have never had a problem before. Best skirt over my less than impressed reaction and get to the point of this thread.
We always travel north from Chapeltown station having parked on the road west of the station then walked down the path from the north end of the station. But Chap only has one ticket machine and that is on the other (southbound) platform. At Chap that involves quite a trek right to the end of the P/F, down a long flight of stairs, round the road, then up another long flight of stairs, then all the way back again to catch the train. Obviously that is an absolute PITA which also requires getting to the station earlier, plus having to add time on in case there was a queue for the machine, making it an even bigger PITA.
I am sure all that would cut no ice with the bean counters and many train guards.
BUT.....
What about people with restricted mobility ? It changes from being a PITA to a significant problem. Those who struggle with stairs would have an even longer trek round which also involves walking the full length of the large and busy Asda carpark (which has no pedestrian route). So, does this situation mean they Northern Rail are in some way contravening the disability discrimination act ?
We always travel north from Chapeltown station having parked on the road west of the station then walked down the path from the north end of the station. But Chap only has one ticket machine and that is on the other (southbound) platform. At Chap that involves quite a trek right to the end of the P/F, down a long flight of stairs, round the road, then up another long flight of stairs, then all the way back again to catch the train. Obviously that is an absolute PITA which also requires getting to the station earlier, plus having to add time on in case there was a queue for the machine, making it an even bigger PITA.
I am sure all that would cut no ice with the bean counters and many train guards.
BUT.....
What about people with restricted mobility ? It changes from being a PITA to a significant problem. Those who struggle with stairs would have an even longer trek round which also involves walking the full length of the large and busy Asda carpark (which has no pedestrian route). So, does this situation mean they Northern Rail are in some way contravening the disability discrimination act ?
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