West Midlands Trains is committed to making all our services safe, accessible and inclusive for all our passengers.
Whether this is supporting you with planning your journey, assisting with getting on and off trains or even just informing you of the facilities that are available to you while travelling.
Here is how the new signage came to life:
Everyone’s experiences are different while travelling but for one individual their experience has had a major impact on them while travelling to watch their favourite team.
Cameron Wood is a West Midlands Train user. He is also a disability rights campaigner who is living with Cerebral Palsy and is also a wheelchair user. Cameron sent a letter to Aston Villa last year (2023) about his experiences travelling to and from Witton station. Cameron voiced his concerns about the level of support to disabled home and away fans while attending game days. He felt that if things didn’t improve, it would force him to stop attending matches.
The club passed the letter to West Midlands Trains and we arranged to meet with Cameron at the station to discuss the matchday travelling experience. Our Customer Experience Director Jonny Wiseman and Cameron took a trip from Birmingham New Street to Witton, joined by colleagues from our stations and accessibility teams. We discussed the challenges of moving tens of thousands of fans on match days, including queuing systems and heard from Cameron about his match day experience.
Following the meeting in autumn we agreed with Cameron it would be helpful to fit Witton Station with new accessibility signage which can be seen from both ends of the platform by station & onboard staff. Cameron was delighted with this solution and looked forward to travelling to Villa Park knowing the new signage would be ready for the start of 2024.
Jump forward to January 2024 and the new signage was put in place ready to be used. Cameron visited the station and he approved of the new signage, and we celebrated in taking steps forward to make travelling to and from the Witton station a smoother experience for passengers.
This month (March 2024) Cameron visited Witton Station again with colleagues from our accessibility and social media team, where we discussed the benefits of the signage and the next steps on supporting disabled and older passengers on the network.
Cameron said "He has finally been seen and heard" in regards to his experience while travelling on the network. He has also stated that "The way West Midlands Trains have handled the issues raised have been fantastic" and communication throughout has been "enjoyable" and he appreciates that "West Midlands Trains didn't forget about him" and kept him "in the loop".
West Midlands Trains takes all feedback seriously from our passengers, feedback helps us improve our network, always striving to put our best foot forward.
If you have any comments regarding accessibility on the rail network, get in touch with us via [email protected]
See below photos from our latest visit to Witton with Cameron.
