Published 10 September 2026
A volunteer survey of 373 railway stations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has found that disability provision is present at 65 per cent of stations, the third weakest result of the twelve headline measures the survey tracked. The work was carried out by members of Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland, a women’s charity that has been surveying station safety since 1996, and the findings were published in its Railway Station Safety Survey report.
The fieldwork covered 985 platforms and generated 388 individual survey entries during 2025, each using the same 22-question checklist. On disability provision, 237 stations were recorded as having some form of provision and 126 were recorded as having none. The report classes that 65 per cent result as a “concern”, and it is blunt about what the number hides: observer accounts, it says, show that yes answers “frequently mask significant inadequacies”.
What the observers actually recorded
The survey names stations where step-free access between platforms is absent, including Stone in Staffordshire, Bingham, Kingham, Sandbach, Cressington, Sundridge Park, Church Fenton and Wigton. At Stone, an observer recorded that the only route to the second platform is a footbridge open to the elements “with very steep steps in both directions. There is no alternative.” At Kingham in Oxfordshire, only one of the two platforms was judged suitable for wheelchair access. At St Helens Central, an observer simply noted that the lift was out of order, leaving no route to platform 2 for wheelchair users or prams.
Three practical failure modes recur through the report. Lifts that stop working and stay broken. Ramps that only a staff member can deploy, at stations where staff are often not there. And Passenger Assist bookings that require notice in advance for journeys that used to need no planning at all. The report links this directly to staffing: only 10 per cent of the stations surveyed were staffed at all times, the weakest single result in the whole dataset, and 48 per cent had no uniformed staff visible at the time of the visit.
A fourth problem is newer. Printed timetables have been removed at many stations and replaced with QR codes, which the report describes as a format that excludes older passengers, partially sighted passengers and rural passengers. Timetable visibility scored 73 per cent, but the report argues the raw figure understates the change, because a printed sheet and a QR code are not the same thing for someone who cannot read a phone screen easily.
Some stations came out well
The report also lists stations it considers exemplary, which is useful because it shows the gap is not inevitable. Chesterfield was cited by multiple observers for step-free access, clear signage, RNIB maps and lifts. Bristol Temple Meads was praised for dedicated disabled assistance staff and British Sign Language information. Gloucester was recorded as having level platform access, lifts and proactive staff. Stourbridge Junction, a small station, was singled out for comprehensive disability information and long staffing hours.
Among the charity’s recommendations to government and operators are accelerating step-free inter-platform access programmes, removing the mandatory pre-booking requirement for Passenger Assist where it is operationally possible, addressing the interaction between staffing cuts and disability provision, and retaining printed timetable information at all stations.
What this means if you travel with a mobility aid
The practical takeaway is that a station listed as accessible may still only be accessible in one direction, or only when staff are on duty. If you use a wheelchair, a mobility scooter or a walking aid, it is worth checking the specific platform you need rather than the station as a whole, and worth knowing whether the lift you are relying on has a working alternative. National Rail’s Passenger Assist service can be booked in advance, and operators publish station-by-station accessibility pages, though the survey suggests those pages do not always reflect what is on the ground on the day.
It is also a reminder that equipment choice and journey planning are connected. A folding or lightweight aid that can be lifted up a footbridge is a different proposition from a heavier powered one, and that trade-off is worth thinking about before you buy rather than after.
Related guides on Review Mobility
- Wheelchairs: types, features and what to look for
- Mobility scooters explained
- Walking aids and how to choose one
- Mobility aids: the full category guide
Sources: Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland, Railway Station Safety Survey and accompanying press release, both accessed 10 September 2026. Reported by THIIS Magazine, 10 September 2026.
Published 10 September 2026