Director Matthew Smith has unrivalled experience as a rail accessibility specialist, identifying and delivering improvements to enable disabled people to travel with ease and on an equal basis with other passengers. He set up Rail Accessibility Ltd in 2010, following years of experience as a TOC accessibility manager and transport planner.
From 2017-2022 he was a member of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the government’s statutory advisors on disability and transport, where he took a leading role in the delivery of evidence-based advice to Ministers and the rail industry. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Access and Inclusion Forum Committee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).
Services
Expert consultancy
We provide technical and policy advice to the rail industry, government and stakeholders, both in the UK and internationally. Now, more than ever, rail travel is discretionary and must be reliably accessible to all potential customers. We focus on current challenges and new opportunities, supporting your business in critical areas of industry change.
Past projects include: franchise bids, rolling stock design, station accessibility, and coverage of accessibility management roles on an interim basis.
Auditing and compliance
In a highly-regulated environment, we focus on systemic whole-journey issues as well as the individual links in the whole-journey chain. This means following a ‘social model of disability’ approach based on the identification and removal of barriers to access. We can support your business with compliance auditing, operational policy, and the design, completion and monitoring of Equality Impact Assessments.
Past projects include: Station accessibility audits, reviews of accessibility operational policies, rail vehicle compliance, disabled passenger mystery shopping, and Equality Impact Assessments across infrastructure and operations.
Equality and inclusion
We have extensive experience in ensuring engagement with disabled passengers and stakeholders is central to project design. Key to our approach is the removal of barriers to access in infrastructure, policies, and processes – upholding the rights of disabled people to autonomy and independent living. We understand that the railway needs to be accessible to everyone – delivering social and economic inclusion, and supporting revenue growth.
Past projects include: disability awareness/equality training, assistance training for frontline operational staff, and stakeholder representation; ensuring the voices of disabled passengers are heard and acted on.
Research and Policy
We have extensive experience carrying out primary research into rail network accessibility, and proposing lasting change based on the evidenced needs of disabled passengers. We support the design and implementation of strategic and operational policy at all levels, providing critical support at a time of significant industry reform.
Past projects include: advisory roles to local and central government, strategic policy development relating to assisted travel and information provision, authorship of high level policy proposals/reports demonstrating the path to a fully inclusive railway.
For more information, contact us at [email protected]