CrossCountry Rail Users Group

@ixcug.bsky.social

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A question - Would you expect to be downgraded from First Class because someone else sat in your reserved seat? Outrageous, right? Yet that's exactly what happened to disability rights campaigner Doug Paulley. On November 21st, 2024, Mr Paulley was due to travel on the 11:46 CrossCountry service from York to Bristol Parkway. Upon attempting to board the train, Mr Paulley was denied access to the wheelchair space he reserved as another wheelchair user, from an earlier stop with no reservation, was occupying the only suitable space in First. CrossCountry offered Doug a downgrade to the Standard Class space in Coach F, which he rightly declined. This led to a 30-minute stand-off on the platform just to secure his legal right to travel. Mr Paulley was eventually allowed onto the train and given access to his booked wheelchair space, after having to position his wheelchair in the dispatch corridor to prevent the train's departure. Instead of taking accountability, XC made public announcements attributing the 30-minute delay to “passengers causing a disturbance” on JourneyCheck, an excuse typically reserved for police-related incidents, which this never was. It’s shameful at best. Mr Paulley was then forced to take legal action against XC Trains Ltd, with Leeds County Court finding that he was discriminated against, as they failed to provide him with his booked wheelchair space. This isn't a one off incident, it's a systemic problem caused by train operators like CrossCountry seeing disabled people as second class passengers. You would never see a Train Manager downgrading an able-bodied passenger to Standard Class if they had a seat reservation - why should it be any different with a disabled passenger? What can and should change? It is inevitable that CrossCountry will be starting the process to procure new units, potentially within the next 5 years. We call on CrossCountry Managing Director Shiona Rolfe to ensure that any new-build units ordered for CrossCountry have…