Disabled Leamington rail passenger says he had to endure nightmare journey due to overcrowding
A disabled Leamington rail passenger has described what he says was a nightmare journey due to overcrowding on the train.
Lance Manley was travelling on the 18:13 Cross Country Trains rail service to Bournemouth between Birmingham Airport and Leamington on December 21 and both he and another disabled passenger were unable to find seats.
Mr Manley said the lady had to sit on the toilet for the duration of the journey despite having reserved a seat on the train, which she was unable to get to because the train was so overcrowded.
Both he and the woman had asked for help on the platform at Birmingham but staff, in his words, “refused to do so”.
He said: “I have been in contact with Cross Country, who have apologised but they have not really addressed the issue beyond that."
In an email to Cross Country’s customer services department, Mr Manley, who said he has received a £5 travel voucher as a goodwill gesture from the company, said: “It is bad enough when one is able bodied to have to travel in such cramped and unpleasant (not to mention claustrophobic) conditions but as a disabled person this is beyond all tolerance.
"Coming back home a week later I deliberately used West Midlands trains to avoid your service in fear of the same situation happening again.”
A customer relations consultant for Cross Country has responded to Mr Manley, saying: “ I’m truly sorry that your experience on board was not what you had hoped for.
"We know how important comfort is, especially on longer journeys, and I regret that the busy service meant you weren’t able to travel as comfortably as you should have.
"We do everything we can to provide enough capacity across our routes, and we regularly review timetables and carriage numbers to reduce overcrowding.
"As part of our franchise agreement, we have limited trains available meaning that we are unable to increase capacity on all services that may benefit from additional seating.
"Sometimes demand is higher than expected for reasons outside our control, and this can mean that not every passenger is guaranteed a seat.
"Please be assured that we take your feedback seriously and use it to help us plan for the future.”