DEBBIE Abrahams MP believes disabled people will only be further excluded from the train system under plans to ‘modernise the railways.’
And she highlighted one issue on her doorstep, the inability to reach one platform at Greenfield Station in a wheelchair.
Proposed staffing levels at stops will also heighten problems, she believes.
The Oldham East and Saddleworth politician joined campaigners from Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP) at Downing Street to hand in a petition signed by more than 160 organisations representing disabled people.
She also called on the Government to rethink plans to reorganise staffing levels.
Ms Abrahams said: “The Government’s plans to ‘modernise the railways’ as they put it, is a real issue for many disabled people and will detrimentally affect their ability to live full and independent lives.
“We have an example of how disabled people are already marginalised on our own doorstep at Greenfield station, where the only way to get from one platform to another is via a bridge with steps.
“In addition to the current physical access issues, the Government’s plans to take guards off the trains, take staff out of ticket offices, and reduce the hours that certain stations are staffed, will only exacerbate the situation for disabled people.
“The UK is a signatory of the UN Convention on the rights of disabled people and accessibility is one of those rights, but, as a country, we just aren’t we delivering on it.
“All the evidence shows that disabled people are already excluded from society, they already use public transport a lot less and, in this day and age, we really need to make sure that disabled people are able to live a full and inclusive life.”
Debbie was joined at Downing Street by Helen Rowlands, who was representing the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.
And she hopes her involvement can see the issue of accessibility brought to Parliament.
She said: “Debbie is much respected for her parliamentary work in support of disabled people’s rights and with her help we hope a parliamentary debate on the crisis of rail inaccessibility will soon be taking place.
“Our message to the Prime Minister is very simple. He must act urgently to protect disabled passengers access rights by preventing the rail operator plans to shut our ticket offices, destaff stations and remove guards from trains.”
In point of fact Debbie Abrahams is the MP not just for Saddleworth she’s the MP for Saddleworth and East Oldham although speaking as one of her East Oldham constituents she may as well not be.
She’s also a member of the same political party that infamously had all their disabled delegates moved off camera at Millibands Labour Party conference in 2014 to make way for, “the bright young things,” (where are they now,) and which introduced the vicious, brutal and too often arbitrary, Work Capability Assessments, for disabled people.
Many people may have forgotten all that stuff by now but disabled people or people with responsibility for someone who is disabled never will.