A disabled Perth veteran says he fears for his health after ScotRail refused to let him board with his mobility scooter.
Ex-Para Charlie Lennon, 78, has COPD and asbestosis and struggles to walk for any distance.
He travels by rail to visit a friend’s caravan at Pettycur Bay in Fife once a month because the sea air helps his breathing.
But the last time he tried to make the journey from Perth, he was stopped in his tracks.
Station staff told him his scooter was too big for the train in question.
And now Charlie says he’s been told he won’t be able to take it on ScotRail trains in future.
The pensioner says he is effectively barred from travelling.
“I’m disabled now, with my breathing,” he said.
“I go down to the caravan every month because it does me good to be by the sea.
“If I didn’t have the scooter I couldn’t get out and if I can’t take the train I’m stuck.
“I just want to be allowed back on the trains.”
ScotRail urged to re-think mobility scooter stance
Charlie got the mobility scooter a few months ago with assistance from veterans charity SSAFA, after his breathing and other health problems worsened.
And he says he has been permitted to take it on trains on a number of occasions previously.
This is not the first time he has encountered problems trying to travel on the rail network, however.
He says he can’t get off at Kinghorn, the nearest station to the caravan park, because he can’t cross the pedestrian overbridge.
Instead, he says he has to get off a couple of stops further along and then catch the next train back to Kinghorn so he can get off on the right platform.
Charlie says he was prepared to put up with this inconvenience.
And he says he offered to park his scooter right at the rear of the last carriage so as not to cause an obstruction but he was told this is not acceptable.
ScotRail arranged for him to take a taxi following the disappointment on June 21.
But Charlie says there has been no offer of a long-term solution.
“I got a phone call three days later to say you’ll not be able to go on our trains because your scooter doesn’t fit,” he said.
“Surely that’s discrimination. If my scooter doesn’t fit on their trains, don’t they need to offer me an alternative?”
ScotRail defends accessibility standards
The ‘accessible travel’ section of ScotRail’s website states that all of its trains accept scooters, so long as they are no greater than 104cm (41in) long and 56cm (22in) wide.
They should also weigh less than 300 kilograms (660lb) with the user on board.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: ”ScotRail is committed to making sure that our services are as accessible as possible.
“We enable tens of thousands of assisted travel journeys each year, and many more spur of the moment trips.
“We do everything we can to allow customers access with mobility scooters and wheelchairs. But unfortunately there are occasions where they cannot be safely accommodated on our trains due to size and weight limitations.
“Our ScotRail Passenger Assist service is there to provide help to customers who may need it, and advise on dimensions which can be checked before travelling by calling 0800 046 1634.”
Conversation