A disabled commuter claims he has been 'forced to sit on the floor' and endure panic attacks on board jam-packed Avanti West Coast services.
Mental health activist John Junior, 34, who has arthritis and has metal bolts in his knees, uses the Wilmslow to Manchester service several times a week but says typical journeys will be ‘rammed’, with passengers ‘sandwiched in’. He uses a walking stick and carries a blue badge at all times, but has described waiting on station platforms as ‘absolute hell’ due to his condition.
John, who also battles with anxiety and OCD, says seats are rarely available and often finds himself left with no choice but to sit on the floor instead.
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He said: “Sitting down is great on a seat, but on the floor it’s really hard to get back up. I need someone to give me a hand.”
Avanti trains will usually have priority access seating on each side at the front and rear of each carriage, but John says he is often too scared to get up in case someone takes his seat.
“You daren’t stand up because people will just take your seat. I get a lot of people who look at me and go: ‘you’re not disabled’ and then I have to explain myself," he said.
“It’s really annoying, I don’t want to tell everyone.”
He also claims locating a member of staff to rectify any issues can be difficult due to the busy carriages.
In order to get some relief on his legs from the discomfort of sitting on the floor, John admitted to locking himself in the toilets on-board for extended periods of time. “It’s not hygienic and it’s not nice but I’ve felt as if I had no choice”, he said.
As the founder of mental health and suicide awareness movment John and Charlies Journey, John spoke openly about how he has dealt with panic attacks before, during and after journeys.
“It’s not safe," he said. "I’ve seen children sat on baggage carriers, sat on other people - couples sat on each other’s laps to make room.
“Luggage just goes wherever. What if someone needed assistance [on a train]? How would they get that?”
Despite the negative experiences, John has praised Avanti West Coast for the quality of its passenger assistance services, which he has repeatedly utilised, and how responsive the company is to complaints on Twitter.
Hopeful that journeys will improve in the future, John said: “I think that more services need to be advanced ticketed, so you have to have a seat to sit in.”
He also suggested installing alert buttons throughout trains in priority access spaces so that staff can be made aware of problems quicker.
The train operator said that they would ‘always encourage’ customers to give up priority seats for those who truly need them and added that accessibility is ‘extremely important’ and that they will communicate back John’s feedback.
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “We are really sorry to hear about John’s experiences while travelling with us. Our Head of Accessibility has contacted him to discuss his concerns and how we can improve his journeys in the future.
“Priority areas are for people who need additional support so staff know where they are and can best assist them. We would always encourage our customers to give up these seats for customers who need them, and to make the train manager aware of any challenges if possible so they can help resolve the situation.
“Accessibility is extremely important to us, and we have industry-leading accessibility panels which allow us to shape our business decisions based on the lived experience of accessibility experts. We’ll ensure that John’s important feedback is heard at these panels and communicated to the wider business.”
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