Wheelchair user reviews train travel from Brighton to London

Lina Talbot has been using a wheelchair for 20 years and has tried to avoid train travel where possible due concerns about travelling alone.

Lina, a Brighton resident, lives alone and employs college students to help keep her home running and assist her when necessary.

She has been in a chair since she was 50 when she had surgery for a slipped disk which left her with nerve damage and causing her to retire early from a career as a hospital registrar.

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Last month Lina decided to travel to London to visit her son in his home, something she had not been able to do before.

She said: "It's wheelchair deployment on a whole other level. I love adventure and I'm very positive, I was determined not to get stressed. I did two practice runs to Lewes and Chichester and prepped by reading up and booking Southern Rail and Thameslink Assisted Travel online."

On her dry runs Lina had been accompanied by a friend but for her trip to London she decided to go it alone, so as not to force her student assistant to come along.

"It all went swimmingly at Brighton station, although I did have to speak with the staff to get a ramp and help with my luggage. So, I'm not quite sure what the booking of the assisted travel actually does or who is actually notified of it," she said.

Lina with her helper on their way to Brighton train station.

Lina then encountered a slight issue when she drove up the ramp and was confronted by a post in the centre of the carriage of the Thameslink train, her teenaged assistant then had to run on board to drop her bags off before the doors closed.

Lina said: "There wasn't really enough time for her to be able to do everything I require, but thankfully my fellow passengers rescued my luggage as my suitcase had rolled off to the end of the carriage, such fun you see.

Due to a points failure she was then diverted to Blackfriars instead of London Bridge, where her son was awaiting her arrival.

"It suddenly dawned on me that there would be no one to help me get off at Blackfriars. I had to ring the train driver because there was no one up and down the train and he phoned back once he had spoken with the station informing me that everything was set up.

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"A couple of passengers from Hove then came to my aid and helped haul my luggage in the lifts and to the new platform. They were great," said Lina.

Following a "wonderful" weekend with her son in London, Lina then struggled on her return journey and found that the assistance she had booked had not appeared.

Her son had to request a ramp to board the train and quickly managed to get her luggage onboard before the doors closed.

"Then no one rang ahead to inform Brighton that I was coming, so I had to speak to the train driver again. The call then set off the alarm, causing people to run out of the toilet. You have to laugh."

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Again, despite booking ahead, when Lina arrived at Brighton station there was no ramp for her because there was another passenger before her who was thought to be the only wheelchair user on the train.

She said: "Happily, my teenage helper was on the platform by now and shouted across for the staff. I just wonder what does actually happen to my booking or request, because no one ever seems to have seen it before I get to the stations?

"As I said, I am a very positive and happy person and I really don't wish to moan but I can't help but think the process could be streamlined a little better to ensure that other disabled people can travel easier and we're not deterred from such journeys.

Brighton train station

"We have to keep calm, and as always speak up to make sure our helpers know exactly what we need."

Upon hearing of Lina's struggles Carl Martin, accessibility lead for Govia Thameslink Railway, said: "We're on a journey of improvement and we're sorry we didn't meet the high standards rightly expected of us.

"Like any incident reported to us we will investigate this thoroughly so we can learn from it. We're determined to improve our level of service we give passengers who need assistance to give everyone the confidence to travel with us."

GTR reports that it is implementing a number of services to improve accessibility across its network. These include new accessibility training, less time needed to book assistance, additional Try-A-Train days, better ‘Turn Up & Go’ service for 41 smaller stations and a new passenger assistance app.

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