Four in five blind people struggle with gap at UK train stations, survey finds
Four in five blind and partially sighted people in the UK have struggled to cross the gap between trains and station platforms, according to a survey, with some falling and injuring themselves.Many blind and partially sighted people avoid taking train journeys owing to anxieties around whether they will be properly supported after having had inconsistent experiences, according to research from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).It found that more than one-third (37%) of blind and partially sighted people felt unable to take all the train journeys they wanted and needed.The gap between the platform and trains was a “significant source of fear”, with some people being struck by a train or coming into contact with an electric rail, or trapped in train doors and dragged as the train departed, the RNIB found.This is partly because tactile wayfinding, which uses raised bumps and colours to help blind and visually impaired people navigate, is less common in British train stations than in many comparable countries such as European nations and Japan, with just one-fifth of blind and visually impaired people surveyed by the RNIB saying they had encountered it at a station.
The report also highlighted inconsistent experiences with passenger assistance, with two-thirds of the 1,200 survey participants regularly left stranded at railway stations when they booked passenger assistance, three-quarters unable to rely on rail staff for help and information, and two-thirds having not been alerted if a train destination changed while onboard.One respondent said they found train travel “too overwhelming to even dare try and use a train alone”, while another said: “Unstaffed stations are a nightmare for the blind.” Erik Matthies, the RNIB’s policy lead for travel and transport, who has sight loss, said the RNIB would like the government to use the new railways bill, which will pave the way for Great British Railways, to “make sure accessibility is embedded” from the start.“Blind and partially sighted people have to contend with challenging ticket-buying methods, inaccessible stations, platforms and onboard facilities like toilets, and inconsistent gaps between the train and platform edges, which contribute to anxious, potentially unsafe journeys,” he said.Paul Goddard, from East Sussex, who was registered blind in 2008 and travels regularly to London Bridge, said: “Every time I book assistance through the passenger assistance app when I’m travelling to London Bridge, I’m very anxious because I know the assistance is going to fail.
No one meets me.You speak to the gate line staff who are often completely disinterested.“Then it’s very difficult to claim back the money you’ve lost on those tickets and you can be left completely out of pocket.It’s just completely unacceptable.”The research found that rail companies often failed to provide information for blind and partially sighted passengers in formats they could understand.
It further highlighted the impact of staffing cuts to ticket offices, with nearly half of respondents (42%) preferring to buy train tickets from a person at ticket offices.Khadija Raza, a blind disability campaigner, said that in the seven years she had been using trains without friends and family she had had “a very inconsistent experience”.Her previous local station was unmanned and although she booked passenger assistance every time, “nobody ever met me at the platform,” she said, “so a journey that should have taken me two and a half hours ultimately took about four, missing connection after connection.”She has since moved station and now relies on ticket office staff to assist her, even though it is not their job and it means she cannot travel after 5.30pm or on Sundays as they are not working then.
“I always plan in a lot of ‘panic if things go wrong’ time and I always try to be as prepared as possible,I get to the train station at least 20 minutes before the train – and yet still I have issues,” she said,“Even when my train experiences are positive, I’m still exhausted after them, because I constantly think about ‘what if this goes wrong, what will happen to me’,”She contrasted her struggles on railways with more positive experiences on the London Underground network, which she said was “very efficient”,She suspected this may be the benefit of having a single operator, compared with separate train and railway station operators where there is often disagreement as to whose responsibility passenger assistance is.
She would like to see all staff given disability awareness training, improved station accessibility and more informative audio announcements on train journeys.“When something goes wrong, we’re usually the last people to know, and we’re the ones who need to know,” she said.
‘Pay up’: Rory McIlroy delivers Ryder Cup warning to LIV pair Hatton and Rahm
Rory McIlroy has challenged Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm to demonstrate their commitment to the Ryder Cup cause by settling fines for their LIV Golf participation.McIlroy pointed towards motivation used by Europe during the victory at Bethpage last September after it emerged that the US players were paid to play in the Ryder Cup.The switches of Rahm and Hatton to LIV has drawn fines – totalling several million pounds – due to tournament conflict with the DP World Tour, where both remain members. Both golfers lodged appeals against the sanctions in 2024 but the cases are still to he heard. Rahm has been adamant he will not pay fines
‘It’s not acceptable’: Brook admits he’s lucky to be captain after bouncer altercation
Harry Brook has admitted he is fortunate still to be England’s white-ball captain after clashing with a nightclub bouncer the night before a one-day international in New Zealand, adding that he has “work to do to try to regain the trust of the players”.Brook was involved in an altercation on the eve of England’s third one‑day international on the tour of New Zealand which led into the Ashes. Overseeing his first away series as the side’s limited-overs captain, Brook reported the incident to team management before receiving a fine reportedly close to £30,000 while keeping his job.The England and Wales Cricket Board said it dealt with the matter “through a formal and confidential ECB disciplinary process”, adding: “The player involved has apologised and acknowledged their conduct fell below expectations on this occasion.”In a statement, Brook apologised and said his “behaviour was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team”
Mercedes lead designer John Owen to leave team during upcoming F1 season
Mercedes have announced that their leading car designer, John Owen, will leave this season as Formula One enters the first year of a major change in regulations. Owen has played a key part in the enormous success Mercedes has enjoyed in the modern era when the team secured eight consecutive constructors’ championships.There are no indications as yet that Owen intends to join another team, with Mercedes saying he will continue in his role until mid-season to manage the transition process, after which he will take a period of gardening leave and what the team described as “a break from F1”.Mercedes will promote the engineering director, Giacomo Tortora, to become director of car design. Tortora already has a close working relationship with the technical director, James Allison, and the deputy technical director, Simone Resta, who oversee the group
Hans Herrmann obituary
Before leaving his home in Stuttgart to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the summer of 1970, the German racing driver Hans Herrmann promised his wife, Magdalena, that if he won, he would retire from the cockpit. This was his 14th attempt at the French sports car classic and, at 42, he was not expecting to have to honour his pledge.But win he did. He and his co-driver, Richard Attwood, a former Jaguar apprentice, held the lead in their Porsche 917K for the last 12 hours of a race run on a rain-drenched track so treacherous that only seven cars out of 51 starters were able to reach the finish.It was the last event in a career that had seen Herrmann, who has died aged 97, compete in 19 Formula One grands prix for various teams, including Mercedes-Benz, for whom he finished third in the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix on the fast and tricky Bremgarten circuit in Bern
Fans and Welsh rugby chiefs at odds over plan to cut one of four professional sides
Richard Collier-Keywood, the embattled chair of the Welsh Rugby Union, has insisted he has the support of fans and players in Wales as the WRU attempts to drive through radical plans to cut one of the four professional sides.Giving evidence before the House of Commons Welsh affairs select committee, Collier-Keywood – who is facing the threat of a vote of no confidence in his leadership – said he believed “the rugby system was essentially broken” in Wales before he took over and there was widespread acknowledgment that it needed to change.His evidence came on a day when a quartet of Welsh fan representatives testified before that same select committee that he was wrong.Iwan Griffiths, from the Scarlets Supporters Trust, said a poll of their members had revealed that 90% were against the WRU’s proposals. Daniel Hallett, from the Dragons Supporters’ Club, said their own survey had shown “there is no appetite for a potential merger, there is no appetite for jumping ship to another team who have been historic rivals”
Australian Open 2026: De Minaur, Zverev, Tiafoe and Andreeva win, Raducanu out – as it happened
Right, that’s all the matches done on day four and all from me on this blog. Thanks for reading, and here is some more for you if you are catching up. Bye!Jovic will play Paolini in the third round. What a tantalising match that is – the pair met at the US Open a few months ago with Paolini winning in straight sets. But Jovic was asked about that defeat and says she is “much improved” since August
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