A wheelchair user was left stranded at a Fife railway station after staff switched off the lifts when they went home.
David Redgewell was forced to make a 20-minute diversion by road to change trains at Kirkcaldy – despite the platforms being just metres apart.
He was pushed in his wheelchair by a woman he met at a bus stop as his route took him via a main road, bridge and car park.
However, he then found the disabled access to the northbound platform was locked.
The furious rail campaigner is now demanding an explanation after his “shocking” experience on Saturday night.
And while ScotRail has apologised, David accused them of breaching the Disability Discrimination Act 2010.
He raged: “The station is in a pretty badly-managed state. It’s at the crumbling edge of quality.
“I never expected to be treated in such a cavalier, outrageous manner.”
Twenty-minute journey to reach opposite platform
David, from Cheltenham, was travelling from Leven to Dundee when trouble struck.
The journey involves a change of train at Kirkcaldy.
Services were being cancelled almost by the minute due to industrial action and the Dundee train David hoped to catch was the last of the day.
“I was helped off at Kirkcaldy railway station to find the lift was off,” he said.
“I managed to get down the ramp but got stuck in the subway because there were no lifts working.
“At that point I decided to go round by road. I met a woman called Tina at a bus interchange, who offered to help me.
“But when we did get to the other side and up the ramp, the entrance was closed.”
The help point was also broken so David had to shout to passengers on the southbound platform to summon assistance for him.
ScotRail called taxi to take David to Dundee
David is part of Cross Country Trains’ equality advisory panel.
He is also a member of Railfuture, a charity which campaigns for better rail services across the UK.
And he said: “My experience in Kirkcaldy on Saturday was pretty shocking really.
“The Disability Discrimination Act applies in Scotland just as it does in England.
“ScotRail staff did eventually help me. They called me a taxi from Edinburgh to take me to Dundee.
“Tina waited with me for an hour-and-a-half and she was dropped off at her house on the way.
“However, the whole thing is unacceptable. This is an inter-city station, not a halt on the Wick to Thurso line.”
Company sorry for experience at Kirkcaldy railway station
ScotRail confirmed lifts are closed at Kirkcaldy railway station during unstaffed hours for safety reasons.
The broken help point has now been reported and will be fixed, they said.
Customer operation director Phil Campbell added: “We are very sorry to our customer for their experience.
“On being alerted to the issue, our customer service staff quickly arranged a taxi to enable them to complete their journey.
“ScotRail is committed to making sure our services are as accessible as possible.”
Conversation