On Track for Inclusive Train Travel: Findings from the Discovery Report

OxCRP
Jul 22
3 min read

The On Track for Inclusive Train Travel Discovery Report is now available. It presents the findings, outlines how disabled people experience train travel today, and identifies opportunities to make the railway more inclusive.

We were one of the partners behind On Track. Funded by the Motability Foundation, the project was delivered by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Community Rail Network, working with Community Rail Lancashire and GO Community Rail Partnership, which brings together Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire Community Rail Partnership (GCRP).

Over the course of a year we listened to disabled people and to colleagues working across the rail industry, to learn what supports a good journey, what can get in the way, and where we can improve things together.

What the report sets out

Training on disability awareness is valuable, and it's now widespread. This research shows it has the most effect when the systems around it support staff to act on it, from staffing levels and daily demands to the culture at work.

There's real encouragement in the findings. Much of what's needed is already in place. Progress is most likely to come from better communication and feedback, from putting lived experience at the centre of decisions, and from shaping services together with disabled passengers.

The key findings

The report sets out some practical opportunities the sector can build on. Four came through for us.

Training is embedded, with an opportunity to focus more closely on outcomes. Disability awareness and inclusion training is a legal and regulatory requirement for rail operators. The opportunity now is to look beyond course completion and ask whether it leads to better experiences for disabled passengers.
Willing staff do their best work with the right support to enable them to. Time and again, the evidence shows staff have both the willingness and the training to help. What makes the difference is the support around them, like ensuring staffing, turnaround times and a bit of room to adapt enable them to practise this consistently.
The moments that join a journey up deserve attention. Assistance is most tested at the handovers, like when moving between one station and a train, or switching services. People also pointed to clearer ticketing, signage, lighting and announcements as things that would help.
It's why this matters. Plenty of disabled passengers still face difficulties. 82% of survey respondents said they had experienced difficulties when travelling by train, and almost one in three (32 per cent) sometimes decide not to travel. Encouragingly, much of what's needed to change that is already within reach.
Coproduction and Feedback Loops matter. What makes a real difference to the impact and longevity of interventions, is having disabled people in the room where decisions are made. The work that many Train Operators are doing provides a good scaffold for this, but more work is needed to strengthen communication and embed lived experience deeper.

From our team

Bee Clark, our Access and Inclusion Program Lead, said: “The generosity people showed in sharing their journeys, both the frustrations and the wins, has been so valuable. What people asked for was straightforward: staff who listen, show empathy and want to help. Disabled passengers know their own journeys better than anyone, and that knowledge has to guide how we keep improving rail travel with our partners across the industry.”

Where this goes next

Our thanks go to everyone who gave their time and their honesty. What you shared has helped us understand both the changes that would help and the good practice already happening, so that rail travel keeps working for everyone.

Why this matters to us

Helping more people feel confident to travel by train is central to what we do.

We work with communities and rail partners across Oxfordshire's stations to understand what people need, paying particular attention to diverse and less advantaged groups, including disabled people, young people and people from a range of backgrounds.

You'll see that across our wider work. Our Travel Confidence resources help people feel ready to make journeys by rail, our Travel Proficiency Certificate supports people to build practical travel skills, and our Access Maps help passengers plan journeys to and from Oxfordshire stations, including onward travel options and access information. Access and inclusion runs through all of it.

On Track gives us, and our partners across the railway, a shared foundation to build on. We’ll continue applying these findings across our wider access and inclusion work, working alongside rail partners, communities and disabled passengers to help make rail travel more confident, predictable and inclusive.

Read the reports and summaries.

You can find out more about the wider On Track project on the Community Rail Network's On Track webpage.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss the findings and next steps.