Fife wheelchair user teams up with transport giant to fix ‘broken’ accessible train travel

A Fife wheelchair user is campaigning to improve train travel for disabled passengers after two traumatic journeys this summer.

Lyall Allan is now working with LNER after complaining about conditions he endured on a train home from London.

The 62-year-old, from Buckhaven, spent several hours crammed next to a toilet with two other wheelchair users on July 14.

All three had booked passenger assistance but discovered wheelchair spaces had not actually been allocated.

Then, less than a month later, Lyall was unable to board a train he had booked in Wales because it was too busy.

He was left stranded and South Western Railway ended up shelling out more than £1,200 for a taxi to Fife.

That turned what should have been a seven-hour train journey into an eleven-and-a-half-hour nightmare.

Lyall said: “The two experiences were traumatic and embarrassing and should not have happened.”

Wheelchair users ‘hemmed in’ on train for hours

Lyall has used a wheelchair since suffering a stroke 12 years ago.

Despite his disability, the music lover has continued attending gigs across Scotland.

And he decided to venture further afield this year.

He was returning from a Stevie Nicks concert at Hyde Park with a friend when trouble struck the first time.

“Three wheelchairs were crammed in a space meant for two,” he said.

“We were hemmed in for hours and we had to keep moving to let people on and off the train.

“People were squeezing past us to get to the toilet and it meant we couldn’t access facilities like the buffet.”

A member of LNER staff boarded the train and joined Lyall for the last three hours of the journey.

And news of the nightmare eventually reached the company’s top management.

Still work to do to improve ‘broken’ services

LNER customer relations manager Mike Ross came to Leven to meet Lyall.

And he invited him to join the company’s accessibility forum.

This allows passengers to provide feedback on how to support people who need assistance.

And members are also helping shape designs for new facilities for disabled passengers at several UK stations, including Edinburgh Waverley.

“It should help make things better,” Lyall says.

Lyall has already been working with Stagecoach for the past two years in an attempt to access the wheelchair lift facility on X services.

But despite his involvement with both companies, he says there is still a lot of work to do.

“It’s such a battle. The delivery of services is broken but I want to help change it,” he said.

An LNER spokesperson said the company is committed to providing the best possible service and welcomes feedback as it “strives to learn”.

“We work closely with customers to understand how we can make journeys better for everyone,” they said.