Disabled sailor Geoff Holt MBE barred from train

I can’t recall the last time that I was so angry and upset I was physically shaking, emotion choking my voice, a sense of genuine rage. That was until I took the train from Ryde Pier to Ryde Esplanade on Saturday 31st March. For those who don’t know, it is a simple 3 minute journey which saves about a 10 minute walk out to the end of Ryde Pier from where you can catch the fast ferry to Portsmouth, essential when it is windy and cold as it was on Saturday morning, even more so when you use a wheelchair.

So why the rage? Quite simply, a guard on the train, specifically “Guard 1003” as he reluctantly identified himself when pressed, refused to let me board the 4.45pm train for the 3 minute journey back to Ryde Esplanade, the same journey I had made 9 hours earlier. Why? To quote Guard 1003, pointing at my wheelchair; “Those things aren’t allowed on these trains, they will damage the floors“. Look of incredulity on my face.

I couldn’t quite believe what I heard and asked him to repeat it, which he did. He continued to say he had been told by his bosses to refuse all electric wheelchairs, and to only allow pushchairs and manual wheelchairs on trains.

Read on at GeoffHolt.com

Also read this story on the BBC website