UPDATED: Possible Meeting With GWR to Discuss Concerns/Questions

[Mawkie]

The Guardian is running a story about (the lack of) accessibility and assistance at stations.

Railway operators in the UK could soon have to pay out far greater sums in compensation to disabled passengers left unable to access trains despite booking assistance.
The rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), has warned companies running trains and stations that compensation claims for failures can no longer be limited to the cost of a ticket.
The ORR is set to toughen up accessibility rules after a disabled passenger was awarded about 10 times as much by a court than by the rail ombudsman – £1,200 instead of £125 – after pre-booked assistance to board a train failed to materialise.
Passengers with disabilities can request help with luggage, navigating stations and getting on and off trains, including the provision of ramps if needed, through the Passenger Assist service. It is bookable up to two hours before travel, but people report having often been left stranded on trains and platforms.
Tanni Grey-Thompson, the former Paralympic athlete, last year became stranded at King’s Cross station and dragged herself off the train before yelling for help.
Campaigners and lawyers have argued that railway policies and compensation do not reflect the breaches of equality law nor the levels of distress suffered.
The ORR has written to the industry to consult on changes after claims made by Doug Paulley, a disability rights campaigner, who was attempting to catch the Caledonian Sleeper night train service to Scotland from London Euston station in March 2023.
Paulley, 47, who uses a wheelchair, had booked assistance which did not arrive. Although he did eventually board with the help of train staff, he said the incident left him stressed.
He started a claim against Network Rail through legal avenues and the Rail Ombudsman. The ombudsman awarded Paulley, from Wetherby, Yorkshire, £100 for the assistance failure and £25 for complaints handling. He refused, and was eventually awarded £1,325 in the courts for the same incident.
He said: “I’m basically on a crusade to make the industry have to pay proper compensation for assistance failures. It isn’t a customer services issue, it is illegal discrimination. It has a massive impact on disabled travellers.
“Assistance failures are still so regular that it is clear the industry doesn’t care sufficiently about them to make them ‘never incidents’. I feel such failures should be given the same status and priority as safety incidents.”
Under the Vento banding system for payouts, the minimum “damages for injury to feelings” – covering discrimination under the Equality Act – is £1,200. Paulley said: “If rail operators get hit in the pocket for £1,200-plus for each assistance failure, this may help concentrate minds somewhat.”
Claire Hann, a solicitor at the law firm Leigh Day, sent the ORR a letter before action highlighting the case of Paulley. She said: “Unfortunately Mr Paulley’s case is not unique – it’s a widespread issue and it impacts many disabled passengers.
“It’s not just that they miss the train, it’s that they are put in a vulnerable position, which can lead to distress, and ultimately affect whether they trust they can travel safely and independently. ”
The ORR said that, while most passenger assistance was done well, there were too many failures. A 2023-24 passenger satisfaction survey found that 5% of travellers using Passenger Assist were unable to complete their journey because assistance did not arrive. However, only 23% of those affected sought compensation.
The regulator said its focus was to ensure passengers got the necessary assistance, but made clear that compensation payouts should now be considered individually and not limited to the fare paid.
Stephanie Tobyn, the ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said claims should be compensated on case by case, adding: “We’ve listened to affected passengers and we believe it is right to review redress policies for failed passenger assistance.”
A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, which represents station and train operators, said it wanted to “build a more accessible, inclusive railway”, adding: “We want every passenger to travel with confidence, and we are committed to improving the reliability of assistance across the network. While we acknowledge that challenges remain, we know how important it is to get this right every time.”

UK train companies could have to pay disabled passengers more compensation after rule change

Regulator says claims over failures no longer limited to the cost of a ticket in bid to toughen accessibility rules

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kath123]

Thank you for the replies.

GWR employing more people does not guarantee that it doesn't happen either. It's unlikely more staff could be justified anyway.

On this point I don’t really want to have a debate in this thread about whether more staff are justified and I don’t know what your relationship is to the station or what experiences you have had there either as railway staff or a Customer. But my feeling as a Customer who uses the station and Ticket Office is that I feel more staff could be justified especially in the summer months with the station on the line to Weymouth. When I have been at the station recently the Ticket Office has been well used.

When I Google the population of Yeovil I get varying figures but Wikipeadia states at the last census the population of Yeovil (including its outlying parishes) to be around 50,000. At the moment the station has two permanent members of staff who work separate shifts. As people have pointed out to me the corner shops, the swimming pool are better staffed. Other towns where GWR run stations eg Chippenham seem to have more staff.

The Guardian is running a story about (the lack of) accessibility and assistance at stations.

UK train companies could have to pay disabled passengers more compensation after rule change

Regulator says claims over failures no longer limited to the cost of a ticket in bid to toughen accessibility rules

www.theguardian.com

Thank you for sharing. I have heard about this. Hopefully increasing compensation payments would reduce assistance failures - I can’t speak for other disabled people but for me I’m not really interested in money for assistance failures, I just want assistance to work. And from my experience I’ve had many very positive experiences using Passenger Assist. It just needs to be a bit more consistent. And the practical and emotional consequences of when assistance goes wrong need to be acknowledged and thought about more.








I’ve had an e-Mail this morning from the Accessibility Manager at GWR and they are offering me a meeting next Wednesday 28th May. They don’t specify whether the Station Manager will be attending. They want to hold the meeting in a local coffee shop - the same as we did in 2019. We did do it that way then but at the time I was just looking for re-assurance and didn’t have quite a few questions to ask. I’m a bit concerned about doing the meeting in a coffee shop because it’s obviously not a very confidential environment. What do other people think? However I get the feeling they are going to offer that or nothing.

Thanks as always for reading and any support.

 

[LowLevel]

I suspect they've offered the coffee shop because it's a neutral environment for all parties and they feel you might be more at ease than if you're sat behind a desk in someone else's office potentially not very local to you.

Internal railway meetings often take place in coffee shops where I am, not unusual for your manager to take you out for a coffee and a catch up or even union reps and managers to have a meeting in the cafe over the road from from the station.

 

[6Gman]

Thank you for the replies.

I’ve had an e-Mail this morning from the Accessibility Manager at GWR and they are offering me a meeting next Wednesday 28th May. They don’t specify whether the Station Manager will be attending. They want to hold the meeting in a local coffee shop - the same as we did in 2019. We did do it that way then but at the time I was just looking for re-assurance and didn’t have quite a few questions to ask. I’m a bit concerned about doing the meeting in a coffee shop because it’s obviously not a very confidential environment. What do other people think? However I get the feeling they are going to offer that or nothing.

Thanks as always for reading and any support.

Personally I think a coffee shop for a meeting of this nature is unprofessional. Why should you be expected to discuss your issues in a public setting?

I think it would be entirely reasonable for you to ask for the meeting to be in a private setting.

(In my time as a councillor I once arranged to meet a constituent at the council offices. At the last minute it had to be switched and we met in a coffee shop. It ended up with a stand-up row, not with the constituent but with someone at a nearby table who overheard what we were discussing and misunderstood!)

 

[AlterEgo]

I’ve had an e-Mail this morning from the Accessibility Manager at GWR and they are offering me a meeting next Wednesday 28th May. They don’t specify whether the Station Manager will be attending. They want to hold the meeting in a local coffee shop - the same as we did in 2019. We did do it that way then but at the time I was just looking for re-assurance and didn’t have quite a few questions to ask. I’m a bit concerned about doing the meeting in a coffee shop because it’s obviously not a very confidential environment. What do other people think? However I get the feeling they are going to offer that or nothing.

Thanks as always for reading and any support.

I assume they are trying to be nice and offer a convivial and non-confrontational setting where you might feel more comfortable, as has been the case in the past. I'm sure they can accommodate you in a station office though, if you prefer - perhaps you don't want to air details of your disability or details of staff failures in a coffee shop. I'm sure they'd understand.

 

[Ken X]

On the plus side they will probably pick up the tab.

As peripatetic workers we always had our annual appraisals with the boss in Little Thiefs or similar. Never noticed any other customers taking the slightest interest in our meetings and it made for a relaxing discussion. You are all meeting as adults to resolve the issues raised so having it on neutral ground with food & drink available should be fine.
Having said that if you are not comfortable see if they can provide an office.
Good luck.

 

[Kath123]

Thank you for the replies.
It was interesting to hear the different viewpoints. In the end I e-mailed the Accessibility Manager back and said I felt mixed about using a coffee shop as a location - I felt it was good as a neutral location but I was concerned about confidentiality. They have now agreed to use the meeting room at the MP’s office. The MP’s case worker has agreed to be there to provide support and take minutes.

I really wouldn't worry about that. They're not going to shout at you. If anything they'll be more scared of you than you are of them!

Sorry I meant to reply to this sooner but missed it. Why would they be scared of me? They have all the power!





On Wednesday this week I was informed by Yeovil Pen Mill station that as things stood they expect the station to be unstaffed next Wednesday (28th May). The National Rail website now confirms this plus reduced staffing hours for Thursday and Friday and no staffing this Sunday (tomorrow). Link to National Rail website https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/yeovil-pen-mill/

I find it ironic that the station will not be staffed the very day I have my meeting with GWR to discuss my concerns (it hurts) and the staffing issue won’t be because of the meeting as far as I’m aware because it is the Accessibility Manager and Station Manager for Pen Mill attending - neither are frontline staff at the station or are even based there to my knowledge.

I think it may have been done deliberately by the Accessibility Manager to chose to have the meeting on a day the station would be unstaffed. They first mentioned the 28th May on 2nd May then made me wait over two weeks for it to be confirmed while I have been suffering atrocious anxiety. My guess is they didn’t want me to find out the station is going to be unstaffed that day so thought by arranging a meeting that day I definitely wouldn’t be travelling and wouldn’t find out.

The poor staffing hours for Yeovil Pen Mill next week together with my thoughts above about what the Accessibility Manager may have done are making me consider withdrawing from the meeting. GWR clearly do not care about my concerns and it seems gave false re-assurance to the local MP about staffing and cover for the station.

Regardless as to whether I attend the meeting I will be sending GWR a further list of questions to answer though I’m thinking of stopping travelling with them altogether.

 

[MotCO]

I would be tempted to ask GWR to lay on a taxi for you at their expense. Obviously tell them that you can't get to the meeting if there are no staff to assist you at Yeovil Pen Mill, and see what they say. If they are serious about meeting you, they should

Sorry I meant to reply to this sooner but missed it. Why would they be scared of me? They have all the power!

They indeed have the power, but they have the power to sort out your situation. The power you have is that you have a very good story to go to the press and embarass them royally. They will want to avoid that, and for that reason they should find a solution to your situation. Please don't be intimidated by them - they are probably going to be as nervous as you.

Befire the meeting, it may be helpful if you record all your issues so that you don't forget them. You may want to rehearse your 'opening statement', so that you can present it at the meeting. However, I have often found that people passionate about a subject can present a very compelling case, and I can tell that you are passionate about your case.

Edit - to add last two paragraphs

 

[Kath123]

I would be tempted to ask GWR to lay on a taxi for you at their expense. Obviously tell them that you can't get to the meeting if there are no staff to assist you at Yeovil Pen Mill, and see what they say. If they are serious about meeting you, they should oblige.

Alternative, are there any staff in the MPs office who could assist?

Oh the meeting is in Yeovil. I don’t need the train. I can get to the meeting.

They know I don’t need the train that day and that works for them cos they want to have the station unstaffed.

 

[AlterEgo]

Oh the meeting is in Yeovil. I don’t need the train. I can get to the meeting.

They know I don’t need the train that day and that works for them cos they want to have the station unstaffed.

I don’t think they’d are under the impression you’re ignorant of the station staffing issues. I do understand how you might justifiably have mistrust of them given the repeated failings but in my experience accessibility managers have always been as a minimum earnest and sincere.

 

[skyhigh]

I think it may have been done deliberately by the Accessibility Manager to chose to have the meeting on a day the station would be unstaffed. They first mentioned the 28th May on 2nd May then made me wait over two weeks for it to be confirmed while I have been suffering atrocious anxiety. My guess is they didn’t want me to find out the station is going to be unstaffed that day so thought by arranging a meeting that day I definitely wouldn’t be travelling and wouldn’t find out.

The poor staffing hours for Yeovil Pen Mill next week together with my thoughts above about what the Accessibility Manager may have done are making me consider withdrawing from the meeting. GWR clearly do not care about my concerns and it seems gave false re-assurance to the local MP about staffing and cover for the station.

I think you may be being just a little unfair here - I think it's highly unlikely the accessibility manager deliberately chose the date, and if they were trying to hide the fact the station was unstaffed they wouldn't have published the information online.

The accessibility manager does appear to care about your concerns, if they didn't then I imagine they wouldn't have agreed a meeting.

As above, I understand your justified mistrust but it sounds like the manager is at least trying to help here.

 

[Kath123]

I think you may be being just a little unfair here - I think it's highly unlikely the accessibility manager deliberately chose the date, and if they were trying to hide the fact the station was unstaffed they wouldn't have published the information online.

The accessibility manager does appear to care about your concerns, if they didn't then I imagine they wouldn't have agreed a meeting.

As above, I understand your justified mistrust but it sounds like the manager is at least trying to help here.

I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree.

If the Accessibility Manager was trying to be helpful they wouldn’t have on the 2nd May suggested 28th May for the meeting saying they needed to confirm it but then failed to confirm it until the 19th May (17 days later). You don’t do that to someone who is highly anxious.

 

[BayPaul]

Something I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned is that I feel that GWR should be carrying out a safety incident investigation into the barrow crossing incident. This isn't 'just' a customer service and equality failure, but also a major safety failing. It is obvious that a partially sighted person can't be expected to read a sign telling them not to use a barrow crossing. GWR planned a reasonable adjustment by providing a member of staff to assist the OP, part of their duties would be to keep them safe. When that member of staff was not provided with no notice, a vital safety control was removed, and so a potentially dangerous situation occurred.

Others have rightly mentioned to the OP that she shouldn't do this in the future, but much more important is that GWR should take action to ensure partially sighted passengers don't accidentally use a barrow crossing, such as a locked gate, or a foolproof system for providing assistance.

If I were the OP, I would be tempted to mention this in the meeting. GWRs incompetence could easily have led to a very serious incident here.

 

[Egg Centric]

I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree.

If the Accessibility Manager was trying to be helpful they wouldn’t have suggested the 28th May for the meeting on the 2nd May saying they needed to confirm it but then failed to confirm it until the 19th May (17 days later). You don’t do that to someone who is highly anxious.

I'm going to take your word for it that that is the "gold standard" for dealing with highly anxious. I wouldn't know that personally (well I suppose I do now so thanks for that - every days a school day!) Now my job doesn't involve dealing with disabilities in any way and I appreciate this managers does. But even so he probably isn't trained on every disability as it would simply be an impossibility. So actually, yes I think most people would. Once you point this out to him I'm sure he'll be mortified but I'd do it from an "FYI" angle rather than a "how dare you" one.

 

[Kath123]

I'm going to take your word for it that that is the "gold standard" for dealing with highly anxious. I wouldn't know that personally (well I suppose I do now so thanks for that - every days a school day!) Now my job doesn't involve dealing with disabilities in any way and I appreciate this managers does. But even so he probably isn't trained on every disability as it would simply be an impossibility. So actually, yes I think most people would. Once you point this out to him I'm sure he'll be mortified but I'd do it from an "FYI" angle rather than a "how dare you" one.

You’ve lost me a bit here especially about the gold standard for dealing with the highly anxious. You think it’s reasonable that it took the Manager 17 days to confirm a date for a meeting? I don’t think many would class this as reasonable regardless of whether an expected attendee has a disability or suffers from anxiety.

I certainly won’t be pointing it out to him. It’s not my job. And should we talk the meeting will be extremely busy as there are around 10 other additional questions I have for GWR which were not included in the previous letter.

 

[Egg Centric]

You’ve lost me a bit here especially about the gold standard for dealing with the highly anxious. You think it’s reasonable that it took the Manager 17 days to confirm a date for a meeting? I don’t think many would class this as reasonable regardless of whether an expected attendee has a disability or suffers from anxiety.

I'm saying it wouldn't occur to me that it could cause anxiety. Of course now you point it out it is obvious. And yes I would consider it reasonable. On the slow side for sure, but not unreasonably slow.

 

[Kath123]

Something I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned is that I feel that GWR should be carrying out a safety incident investigation into the barrow crossing incident. This isn't 'just' a customer service and equality failure, but also a major safety failing. It is obvious that a partially sighted person can't be expected to read a sign telling them not to use a barrow crossing. GWR planned a reasonable adjustment by providing a member of staff to assist the OP, part of their duties would be to keep them safe. When that member of staff was not provided with no notice, a vital safety control was removed, and so a potentially dangerous situation occurred.

Others have rightly mentioned to the OP that she shouldn't do this in the future, but much more important is that GWR should take action to ensure partially sighted passengers don't accidentally use a barrow crossing, such as a locked gate, or a foolproof system for providing assistance.

If I were the OP, I would be tempted to mention this in the meeting. GWRs incompetence could easily have led to a very serious incident here.

Thanks for your post. The barrow crossing at Yeovil Pen Mill is not behind locked gates. I can’t read the signage so I don’t know whether the public can just use it and I’ve received mixed information on that. One guard has told me I could just use it alone as long as no train is at platform 1. I’ve never used it on my own though.

On the day of the incident last August I didn’t use the barrow crossing until I had managed to shout to someone who I thought might be the signaller, they confirmed they were and said I could cross.

I don’t know what investigations GWR carried out.

I have on my list to ask GWR at the meeting what I should do if I turn up to the station in similar circumstances again with booked assistance, nobody there and needing to get to platform 3 (I think it was in the letter I sent to GWR in April which I posted a copy of on here).

I'm saying it wouldn't occur to me that it could cause anxiety. Of course now you point it out it is obvious. And yes I would consider it reasonable. On the slow side for sure, but not unreasonably slow.

Ok I hope you feel the same when you need to have a meeting about something which really effects you/is important to you and you feel anxious about. Obviously all of us experience things like this in life so at some point it will be your turn.

The delay confirming the meeting caused additional anxiety. On top of the anxiety already present due to the ongoing situation. Not to mention that I suffer from anxiety and am on medication for it.

 

[AlterEgo]

Thanks for your post. The barrow crossing at Yeovil Pen Mill is not behind locked gates. I can’t read the signage so I don’t know whether the public can just use it and I’ve received mixed information on that. One guard has told me I could just use it alone as long as no train is at platform 1. I’ve never used it on my own though.

On the day of the incident last August I didn’t use the barrow crossing until I eventually managed to shout to someone who I thought might be the signaller, they confirmed they were and said I could cross.

I don’t know what investigations GWR carried out.

I have on my list to ask GWR at the meeting what I should do if I turn up to the station in similar circumstances again with booked assistance, nobody there and needing to get to platform 3.




Ok I hope you feel the same when you need to have a meeting about something which really effects you/is important to you and you feel anxious about. Obviously all of us experience things like this in life so at some point it will be your turn.

The delay confirming the meeting caused additional anxiety. On top of the anxiety already present due to the ongoing situation. Not to mention that I suffer from anxiety and am on medication for it.

I’m sure they didn’t do any of these things on purpose. It sounds like you have an important meeting with them with lots of things that need to be discussed to make sure you access your right to transport.

If you don’t want to tell them how confirming a meeting relatively late caused you more anxiety then that is up to you, but if you want them to take your disabilities and conditions into account then you have to tell them about it and you have to tell them how they improve.

If you go into the meeting assuming the other party is acting in bad faith then you will not accomplish what you want. This isn’t a defence of the railway, which often gets these things wrong, but I do think you are being unfair with assuming GWR are not at least trying here. If you don’t think they want to achieve anything don’t waste your time going.

 

[Kath123]

I’m sure they didn’t do any of these things on purpose. It sounds like you have an important meeting with them with lots of things that need to be discussed to make sure you access your right to transport.

If you don’t want to tell them how confirming a meeting relatively late caused you more anxiety then that is up to you, but if you want them to take your disabilities and conditions into account then you have to tell them about it and you have to tell them how they improve.

If you go into the meeting assuming the other party is acting in bad faith then you will not accomplish what you want. This isn’t a defence of the railway, which often gets these things wrong, but I do think you are being unfair with assuming GWR are not at least trying here. If you don’t think they want to achieve anything don’t waste your time going.

I don’t see why I need to get into a discussion with GWR about how them being very slow to confirm a meeting has affected me. I am expecting this meeting to be a one off therefore what is the point?

As for how they can help me. Do one thing. Make sure the station is not unstaffed during its scheduled staffing hours and provide my booked assistance. And be able to make sure other passengers are looked after/safe at the same time.

That’s all I’m asking them. All I want.

So it is infact what they should be doing already.

Shouldn’t take a disabled person to go to a meeting to achieve (or a second meeting in six years).

I think they’ll probably need to employ more than two members of permanent staff (who work different shifts) at the station for the scheduled staffing hours to be consistently covered but they seem determined not to do this. The station is well used and especially during the summer months should have more than one staff member on duty at a time (but lets not try to run before we can walk given at the moment GWR are repeatedly not staffing the station even with one member of staff).

What makes you think GWR are trying at the moment?

I don’t believe the meeting will achieve anything in respect of staffing but if I’m going to try I’m not sure of any other routes to go down.

 

[AlterEgo]

I don’t see why I need to get into a discussion with GWR about how them being very slow to confirm a meeting has affected me. I am expecting this meeting to be a one off therefore what is the point?

It's up to you, don't tell the accessibility manager how they didn't account for your disability if you don't feel it'll be productive.

I think even if I met an accessibility manager one time and they made a small misstep which made my life more difficult, I would tell them. Because I assume someone who is an accessibility manager does care about how they personally treat disabled people, even though I recognise they probably have a very difficult job with not enough resource in an industry which is tightening its belt.

What makes you think GWR are trying at the moment?

They're sending their accessibility manager all the way to Yeovil for half a day for a meeting, and also agreed to a reasonable adjustment changing the venue from somewhere informal to somewhere you felt more at ease.

I expect they are a busy person with lots on their plate, and likely they are not a magician. They may not be looking forward to the meeting because they may not be able to address all your concerns (not that it is your problem!). But if you assume they are not trying, or are engaging in bad faith, I fear you will not get the results you want.

 

[Kath123]

It's up to you, don't tell the accessibility manager how they didn't account for your disability if you don't feel it'll be productive.

Although it affects me a lot I do not consider my anxiety to be a disability. I consider my severe visual impairment to be my disability. Although under the Equality Act you are probably right that my anxiety/mental health would be classed as an additional disability.

They're sending their accessibility manager all the way to Yeovil for half a day for a meeting,

Yep after some time arranging it they are. Whether anything will come of it or it will be something they forget the next day we’ll find out.

Interesting they can manage to send the Accessibility Manager to Yeovil for the day but not someone to staff the station. Perhaps they could staff it for a few hours while they are here?

Yeovil is on the GWR network. Senior staff should be visiting reguarly. I shouldn’t have to be extra grateful they are willing to come to Yeovil.

I notice a lot of people are saying positive things about GWR in this thread but not one has commented on the information in the link I posted (in post 157) giving the staffing hours for Yeovil Pen Mill next week. What do people think about the hours? It’s all ok even though it doesn’t match what the scheduled hours should be by far??

Given my MP’s office e-mailed me previously saying they had received re-assurances from a senior member of staff at GWR that the station would receive cover when permanent staff are unavailable I think it’s very poor.

 

[Egg Centric]

Ok I hope you feel the same when you need to have a meeting about something which really effects you/is important to you and you feel anxious about. Obviously all of us experience things like this in life so at some point it will be your turn.

Since you ask, I've been waiting literally *years* for an NHS weight loss jab (so have decided to go private). I'm not the anxious type - to the extent I have any emotional response at all I get irritated - but I absolutely understand it not being a good thing.

A few weeks is not a long time to wait for an appointment confirmation with someone who is presumably busy and has many things on their plate. I doubt he's just twiddling his thumbs thinking about you.

I do agree though if it causes you anxiety and he's aware of this then he - or someone from GWR - should at least have been checking in with you every couple of days to reassure you that they were still arranging stuff. The only way they'll know to do this though is if you let them know.

 

[800Travel]

Although it affects me a lot I do not consider my anxiety to be a disability. I consider my severe visual impairment to be my disability. Although under the Equality Act you are probably right that my anxiety/mental health would be classed as an additional disability.



Yep after some time arranging it they are. Whether anything will come of it or it will be something they forget the next day we’ll find out.

Interesting they can manage to send the Accessibility Manager to Yeovil for the day but not someone to staff the station. Perhaps they could staff it for a few hours while they are here?

Yeovil is on the GWR network. Senior staff should be visiting reguarly. I shouldn’t have to be extra grateful they are willing to come to Yeovil.

I notice a lot of people are saying positive things about GWR in this thread but not one has commented on the information in the link I posted (in post 157) giving the staffing hours for Yeovil Pen Mill next week. What do people think about the hours? It’s all ok even though it doesn’t match what the scheduled hours should be by far??

It’s kind of disappointing that given the staffing issues are next week they can’t try and find a staff member from another station to come and cover. I don’t know the practicalities of this of course, but I would’ve thought there would have been time to arrange cover.

 

[MotCO]

I wonder if at the meeting you need to explain what it is like to be visually impaired, the effect it has on your life, and what help you need to have something approaching a normal life. Maybe the Accessibility Manager hasn't met a visually impaired person before, and would be interested in understanding your difficulties.

 

[ikcdab]

the moment the station has two permanent members of staff who work separate shifts. As people have pointed out to me the corner shops, the swimming pool are better staffed. Other towns where GWR run stations eg Chippenham seem to have more staff.

Well Yeovil Pen Mill is a branch line station whereas Chippenham is on the mainline and a completely different affair. At the corner shop and swimming pool every customer needs attention whereas with the ability to buy tickets online, most passengers can pass through YPM with no need to bother the staff at all. I think the level of staffing seems about right for the patronage of the station. Of course none of this takes away from the fact that if they advertise an assistance service then they need to provide it. I think GWR have over promised and failed to deliver. If they want to offer an assistance service at every station then they maybe should consider employing some locals on zero hours contracts who are only called on when a passenger requests the service. In 18 months time, GWR will be absorbed into GBR and everything will be fine again.

 

[Kath123]

Below are the additional questions I intend to send to GWR with hope we can discuss them at the meeting as well as my letter sent to them in April which is in post 138 in this thread. Obviously the letter has already been sent but if anyone has any constructive feedback on how I've typed out the additional questions below please let me know.

I realise now there is a lot of written material but the letter and questions below pretty much contain everything I want to raise with GWR so hopefully we can use the time in the meeting mainly for them replying. Many thanks.


ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR MEETING WITH GWR



1. A question for (name redacted - Station Manager for Yeovil Pen Mill) – I understand you are the Station Manager for Yeovil Pen Mill but believe you may be based at Westbury Station. Please can you confirm whether this is correct and if so how often you visit Yeovil Pen Mill station/have contact with staff there?

2. I have been informed there is a Help Point button at Yeovil Pen Mill station. Please can you let me know how the Help Point system works eg where I would be put through to when pushing the button and the situations it can be used in? If it is felt the Help Point could potentially be of use to me in future could someone please show me where it is and help me learn how to operate it when I next visit the station?

3. As mentioned in my letter dated Monday 28th April I have been informed that one member of staff at Yeovil Pen Mill has no access to the Passenger Assistance App. Last week that same member of staff informed me they also are not able to telephone other stations eg to inform them where I am sat on the train after they have helped me to board. On several occasions staff from Bristol Temple Meads have commented to me that Yeovil Pen Mill not providing this information to them has made it very difficult for them to find me so they can carry out my booked assistance at the other end of my journey. Please can this be resolved so that all staff at Yeovil Pen Mill are able to telephone other stations and access the Passenger Assist app?

4. This question relates to when I am due to arrive into Yeovil Pen Mill on a train coming from Weymouth direction which will stop on platform 1. If due to the station being unstaffed during its scheduled staffing hours or due to a preference by the station it is expected/desired that I will have guard only assistance to assist me off the train and let me know the direction to the exit please can this be properly discussed and confirmed when I telephone Passenger Assist to book and placed in the confirmation e-mail? In these cases I would also appreciate re-assurance that the guard will be informed that that part of my assistance has been allocated solely to them to do. For clarity I don’t feel guard only assistance will ever be appropriate at Yeovil Pen Mill when I have to travel from/arrive back at platform 3 across the stepped footbridge/track crossing as I feel station staff assistance will always be needed to assist with station navigation (especially with providing sighted guide assistance across the track crossing/stepped footbridge). Perhaps this is my failing but I feel I have to say what I feel comfortable/safe with doing. From my previous contact with you (name redacted - Accessibility Manager) I feel GWR have understood and agreed with my need to have station staff assistance when needing to get to/from platform 3. Please confirm that this remains the case and that if station staff are not due to be available alternative arrangements will be put in place?

5. A member of staff at the station has explained to me that the scheduled staffing hours for the station reflect the hours the Department Of Transport feel the station should be staffed but this does not necessarily align with what will happen in reality. Can you expand a bit more on this please?

6. I am interested in learning a little bit more about staffing at the station at weekends and on Bank Holidays. A member of staff has explained to me that on Bank Holidays the station should normally be staffed its scheduled weekday hours (although possibly will not be if a member of staff has taken leave – they gave the example that they would have been due to work the August bank holiday this year but as they have booked leave this may not be covered). With regards to Sundays they explained that currently sometimes the station is staffed longer then its scheduled staffing hours for that day of the week but then other Sundays the station will have no staffing at all – for example they stated on Sunday 25th May and Sunday 1st June the station will have no staffing at all. Please can you explain a bit more about all of this and how it is best to find out in advance which Sundays the station will be staffed?

7. I always try to book assistance for my journeys in advance and at present will always do this unless I need to travel urgently/in an emergency for any reason. However my disabled friends have re-iterated to me my right to Turn Up And Go with the right to turn up and receive the same level of assistance as if I’d booked. Is Yeovil Pen Mill station in a position to facilitate Turn Up And Go requests during its scheduled staffing hours? Is it already doing this?

8. Where is the Assistance Meeting point at Bristol Temple Meads station please? When I book assistance by telephone on 0800 197 1329 the Call Centre in Sheffield are often telling me that the meeting point at Temple Meads is the Customer Information Office on Platform 3 but for over a year now the station themselves tell me it is now the Station Reception next to the Ticket Office. However I have on multiple occasions arrived to find the Station Reception unstaffed and it is often at the Gateline where I first find someone to assist me. Please could you confirm where I should be going? I have also been told on a number of occasions by the Passenger Assist call centre that the Passenger Assist meeting point at Weymouth station is the Ticket Office but the station say it is the Passenger Assist Office. Please can you confirm?

9. Are GWR aware that at times the wait to get through to someone to book assistance on the 0800 197 1329 number can be quite long? I appreciate this is a freephone number but for example on Monday 19th May I waited over 20 minutes trying to get through to someone before giving up and deciding to try again the next day.

10. I know (name redacted - Accessibility Manager) that you and I are both aware of my concern that you were unable to get hold of Yeovil Pen Mill station during their scheduled staffing hours on Friday 2nd May. I would just like to say this is not the first time this type of thing has happened – there have been other occasions when the Passenger Assist call centre have been unable to get hold of the station during their scheduled staffing hours. Although it was quite a while ago now I would like to flag an example where the Passenger Assist call centre stated to me on Thursday 31st October 2024 they made numerous attempts throughout the day to get hold of Yeovil Pen Mill station during their scheduled staffing hours so they could check if the station would be staffed the next day as I wished to travel. As a result of not being able to get hold of the station to confirm it would be staffed Passenger Assist booked me a taxi to Weymouth for the next day. While I was obviously grateful for the taxi (as with previous taxis provided by GWR over the years) obviously the aim needs to be for me to be using the station. I’m wondering if you could please look into why it seems at times the station are difficult to contact during their scheduled staffing hours? Obviously it feels important that Stations and Accessibility Managers etc should be able to reach them.

 

[Egg Centric]

Below are the additional questions I intend to send to GWR with hope we can discuss them at the meeting as well as my letter sent to them in April which is in post 138 in this thread. Obviously the letter has already been sent but if anyone has any constructive feedback on how I've typed out the additional questions below please let me know.

I realise now there is a lot of written material but the letter and questions below pretty much contain everything I want to raise with GWR so hopefully we can use the time in the meeting mainly for them replying. Many thanks.


ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR MEETING WITH GWR



1. A question for (name redacted - Station Manager for Yeovil Pen Mill) – I understand you are the Station Manager for Yeovil Pen Mill but believe you may be based at Westbury Station. Please can you confirm whether this is correct and if so how often you visit Yeovil Pen Mill station/have contact with staff there?

2. I have been informed there is a Help Point button at Yeovil Pen Mill station. Please can you let me know how the Help Point system works eg where I would be put through to when pushing the button and the situations it can be used in? If it is felt the Help Point could potentially be of use to me in future could someone please show me where it is and help me learn how to operate it when I next visit the station?

3. As mentioned in my letter dated Monday 28th April I have been informed that one member of staff at Yeovil Pen Mill has no access to the Passenger Assistance App. Last week that same member of staff informed me they also are not able to telephone other stations eg to inform them where I am sat on the train after they have helped me to board. On several occasions staff from Bristol Temple Meads have commented to me that Yeovil Pen Mill not providing this information to them has made it very difficult for them to find me so they can carry out my booked assistance at the other end of my journey. Please can this be resolved so that all staff at Yeovil Pen Mill are able to telephone other stations and access the Passenger Assist app?

4. This question relates to when I am due to arrive into Yeovil Pen Mill on a train coming from Weymouth direction which will stop on platform 1. If due to the station being unstaffed during its scheduled staffing hours or due to a preference by the station it is expected/desired that I will have guard only assistance to assist me off the train and let me know the direction to the exit please can this be properly discussed and confirmed when I telephone Passenger Assist to book and placed in the confirmation e-mail? In these cases I would also appreciate re-assurance that the guard will be informed that that part of my assistance has been allocated solely to them to do. For clarity I don’t feel guard only assistance will ever be appropriate at Yeovil Pen Mill when I have to travel from/arrive back at platform 3 across the stepped footbridge/track crossing as I feel station staff assistance will always be needed to assist with station navigation (especially with providing sighted guide assistance across the track crossing/stepped footbridge). Perhaps this is my failing but I feel I have to say what I feel comfortable/safe with doing. From my previous contact with you (name redacted - Accessibility Manager) I feel GWR have understood and agreed with my need to have station staff assistance when needing to get to/from platform 3. Please confirm that this remains the case and that if station staff are not available alternative arrangements will be put in place?

5. A member of staff at the station has explained to me that the scheduled staffing hours for the station reflect the hours the Department Of Transport feel the station should be staffed but this does not necessarily align with what will happen in reality. Can you expand a bit more on this please?

6. I am interested in learning a little bit more about staffing at the station at weekends and on Bank Holidays. A member of staff has explained to me that on Bank Holidays the station should normally be staffed its scheduled weekday hours (although possibly will not be if a member of staff has taken leave – they gave the example that they would have been due to work the August bank holiday this year but as they have booked leave this may not be covered). With regards to Sundays they explained that currently sometimes the station is staffed longer then its scheduled staffing hours for that day of the week but then other Sundays the station will have no staffing at all – for example they stated on Sunday 25th May and Sunday 1st June the station will have no staffing at all. Please can you explain a bit more about all of this and how it is best to find out in advance which Sundays the station will be staffed?

7. I always try to book assistance for my journeys in advance and at present will always do this unless I need to travel urgently/in an emergency for any reason. However my disabled friends have re-iterated to me my right to Turn Up And Go with the right to turn up and receive the same level of assistance as if I’d booked. Is Yeovil Pen Mill station in a position to facilitate Turn Up And Go requests during its scheduled staffing hours? Is it already doing this?

8. Where is the Assistance Meeting point at Bristol Temple Meads station please? When I book assistance by telephone on 0800 197 1329 the Call Centre in Sheffield are often telling me that the meeting point at Temple Meads is the Customer Information Office on Platform 3 but for over a year now the station themselves tell me it is now the Station Reception next to the Ticket Office. However I have on multiple occasions arrived to find the Station Reception unstaffed and it is often at the Gateline where I first find someone to assist me. Please could you confirm where I should be going?

9. Are GWR aware that at times the wait to get through to someone to book assistance on the 0800 197 1329 number can be quite long? I appreciate this is a freephone number but for example on Monday 19th May I waited over 20 minutes trying to get through to someone before giving up and deciding to try again the next day.

10. I know (name redacted - Accessibility Manager) that you and I are both aware of my concern that you were unable to get hold of Yeovil Pen Mill station during their scheduled staffing hours on Friday 2nd May. I would just like to say this is not the first time this type of thing has happened – there have been other occasions when the Passenger Assist call centre have been unable to get hold of the station during their scheduled staffing hours. Although it was quite a while ago now I would like to flag an example where the Passenger Assist call centre stated to me on Thursday 31st October 2024 they made numerous attempts throughout the day to get hold of Yeovil Pen Mill station during their scheduled staffing hours so they could check if the station would be staffed the next day as I wished to travel. As a result of not being able to get hold of the station to confirm it would be staffed Passenger Assist booked me a taxi to Weymouth for the next day. While I was obviously grateful for the taxi (as with previous taxis provided by GWR over the years) obviously the aim needs to be for me to be using the station. I’m wondering if you could please look into why it seems at times the station are difficult to contact during their scheduled staffing hours? Obviously it feels important that Stations and Accessibility Managers etc should be able to reach them.

I think that on the whole they're very good and exactly why I said they will be more afraid of you than you should be of them - they're specific enough that an answer will have to be specific as well - vague platitudes won't do!

Where I'd personally have done things a bit differently is on concrete guarantees for what they will do if they do things wrong - and what they would consider to be wrong. EG suppose they answer question 7 with "yeah you can turn up". Well suppose you do and there's no one there. How long will they guarantee someone appropriate will be there? What happens if they're not?

These are things you can explore in the meeting of course