TREATMENT OF DISABLED PASSENGERS BY EAST MIDLANDS TRAINS

Early day motion 1934, tabled 15 June 2011 by Tony Lloyd (Labour). Signed by 15 members.

That this House condemns the appalling treatment of a disabled passenger, Harry Heaney, by East Midlands Trains; notes that Mr Heaney had reserved two seats from Manchester to Sheffield for himself, as a disabled passenger, and his carer; regrets that the train arrived full with his coach missing and that he was therefore forced to stand for the entirety of his journey with his portable oxygen equipment; regards the offer by East Midlands Trains of 11 pounds in compensation, the price of his ticket, as derisory; considers unacceptable the reply from Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of that company, which stated that `This problem is not within my gift to resolve, we comply fully with our obligations under the Franchise agreement'; understands that the Office of Rail Regulation does not have powers to investigate the mistreatment of disabled passengers; and therefore calls on the Government to introduce such powers and to introduce EC Regulation 1371/2007/EC which would force railway companies to have a more acceptable and sympathetic attitude to people with disabilities than that shown by East Midlands Trains.

Signatures by party: Labour 11, Liberal Democrat 3, Conservative 1.