Rail Regulator launches new 'code' for disabled passengers

31 May 2000
ORR/00/15

Rail Regulator launches new 'code' for disabled passengers

Tom Winsor, the Rail Regulator, today began consulting on a new code of practice which will set standards of service and access for disabled passengers, and provide an achievable framework in which to deliver consistent standards. The first code of practice was published in July 1994, and the Rail Regulator has a duty under section 70 of the Railways Act 1993 to revise the code taking into account the legal requirements now imposed by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Commenting on the draft code - Train and Station Services for DisabledPassengers - Tom Winsor said: "I am committed to ensuring that the railwayindustry makes real progress in improving the accessibility of its services forpeople with disabilities. Of all public transport, the railways have thegreatest potential for improving the quality of life for people who aredisabled, and I want to create a code that provides a framework for progresstowards a more accessible railway system."

Following an eight-week period for consultation, the Rail Regulator willreview contributions generated by the consultation process and incorporatethese, where appropriate, into the revised code of practice which will bepublished later this year. 

The consultation document "Train and Station Services for Disabled Passengers" is available from here as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. It is also available on audio cassette, in standard type, large type, and in other formats from: Sue MacSwan, the ORR Librarian, Office of the Rail Regulator, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138-142 Holborn, London EC1N 2TQ, tel: 020 7282 2001, fax: 020 7282 2045, e-mail: rail.library@orr.gsi.gov.uk.

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