Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all trains operated under driver-only operation will be fully accessible to disabled passengers.

Passenger train operators have a mandatory requirement under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that reasonable adjustment is made to ensure that the services they provide are accessible to disabled passengers, regardless of the specific staffing arrangements they employ to deliver services. This includes complying with accessibility regulations that set the standards for the physical layout and features of their trains. We are committed to improving accessibility on the rail network. Roughly 70% of train fleets operating passenger services currently meet modern accessibility standards, with work on the remaining vehicles due to be completed by 2020. An operator is also required, by a condition of its operator’s licence, to have a Disabled People’s Protection Policy, which sets out how it provides assistance to disabled passengers. This is approved by the Office of Rail and Road.