Passenger Assistance and Lift Failures

Samantha Fletcher

Disability Rights UK highlights growing concerns around Passenger Assist failures and increasing lift outages at rail stations. Despite 94% overall satisfaction with assistance when received, around 11% of survey participants were not provided any help, often due to station infrastructure breakdowns. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has recorded a 9% rise in lift failures over the past year and a 42% jump in faults causing lifts to be out of service for more than a week, totalling 396 incidents. DR UK’s Transport Policy Adviser, Stephen Brookes, warns that these failures severely hinder accessibility, compounded by a lack of real‑time updates on lift status. Disability Rights UK supports ORR’s call for improved maintenance, clearer communication, and better planning to ensure disabled passengers receive reliable support.

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/passenger-assistance-and-lift-failures