Transport Scotland is working with a range of organisations to improve access to the rail network for everyone.
We have established the Scottish Rail Accessibility Forum
to bring together the rail industry and disability organisations within
Scotland to ensure that the requirements and expectations of these
groups are taken into account.
At the current time Disability
Discrimination Act issues relating to the rail network are reserved to
Westminster, however we are working daily with colleagues at Department
for Transport (DfT) to ensure that Scottish interests are covered.
In March 2006 DfT published the Railways for All Strategy (PDF, 0.4 Mb) outlining the intention to improve access to the rail network for disabled people.
A key part of this Strategy is the Access for All
finance targeted at improving the accessibility of stations. Through
the "Access for All" scheme £3.91 million will be spent per annum
developing railway stations in Scotland. This is Transport Scotland’s
share of a GB-wide scheme led by the Department of Transport. Network
Rail is delivering these schemes.
The First ScotRail website
provides details of the Scottish stations and train services and how
accessible these are. Information on what services First ScotRail
provides to assist disabled people, including alternative accessible
taxis where necessary, is available in First ScotRail’s Disabled Persons Protection Policy.
