Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Caulfield and Andrew Jones

Thursday 8th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

2. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that rail companies provide on-board visual and auditory displays for disabled passengers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Andrew Jones)]

The provision of an audio-visual passenger information system is mandatory for all new trains, and it has been since 1999. For older trains, operators have until 1 January 2020 to fit an AV passenger system. Currently, 70% of the fleet operated on the main line has been either built compliant or upgraded to be compliant, and the rest of the fleet will be upgraded or replaced by 2020.

[Maria Caulfield]

How can we encourage staff on our railways to make announcements on the trains to help visually impaired passengers when visual displays are either not fitted on the trains or, as is the case most of the time, not working?

[Andrew Jones]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue. It is a condition of an operator’s passenger licence that it must publish a disabled persons protection policy. That covers how the needs of visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing people are met with regard to AV systems, including in times of delay or disruption. DPPPs have to be approved by the Office of Rail and Road. Additionally, disability awareness training is mandatory for all customer-facing staff and managers in train operating companies.