The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is asking for views on a new annual assessment, to be launched in 2025, that will rate the performance of how train companies provide assistance to disabled passengers.
ORR said the new assessment of train operators’ and Network Rail’s performance in delivering passenger assistance will strengthen the regulator’s ability to hold operators to account for poor performance.
ORR also hopes that it will also highlight good practice to share across the industry, and drive improvements in the provision of the service for passengers.
Feedback from passengers, including what ORR gets from its regular passenger surveys, has highlighted that assistance needs to be delivered more reliably.
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ORR has proposed that operators be assessed on two core areas: their actual delivery of assistance and their capability to improve.
They will be measured across several factors, against three levels of performance – Upper, Middle and Lower – with a potential further assessment of whether an operator’s performance is improving or worsening.
Director of strategy, policy and reform, Stephanie Tobyn said: “We know that when assistance is delivered it is usually done well, however when it fails, it has a significant impact on passengers.
“Some passengers requiring assistance have been placed in unnecessary and humiliating situations because of failures by train companies to adequately manage the assistance delivery processes.
“Our new assessment will be crucial in helping operators understand where and why they are falling short and what they need to do to improve.”
