ParalympicsGB chef de challenge Penny Briscoe stated it’s an “absolute disgrace” that 11-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Gray-Thompson used to be compelled to “crawl off” a educate.
The previous wheelchair racer arrived at London’s King’s Move on Monday night time on a London North Jap Railway (LNER) educate however there used to be no person there to help her. Baroness Gray-Thompson had booked support to aid her off the nineteen.15 educate from Leeds however overlooked it and took the nineteen.45 educate in lieu.
She says she “had a contract” and will have to had been assisted off the educate however later 20 mins, no person got here.
“So I decided that I would crawl off the train,” the 55-year-old informed the BBC.
She persisted: “Trains were meant to be step free by January 1 2020. It’s exhausting. I was really angry last night. I can just about do it (get off a train) but there are lots of other disabled people who can’t and would have been stuck until who knows when. In this day and age it’s not right.”
Briscoe, talking from ParalympicsGB area in Paris, stated: “It’s the lived experience of disabled people on a daily basis. It just doesn’t get reported.
“You should, as a disabled person, be able to get on and off a train and go about your daily living but the reality is far more difficult than that. We’re trying, as ParalympicsGB, to inspire a better world for disabled people. We want change and our athletes want change. There’s still so much to do, and we can’t let our foot off the pedal in terms of demanding that change and creating a more equitable society.”
An LNER spokesperson told the BBC it used to be investigating the incident and used to be “sorry to understand there was an issue”.
It’s the first date Paris have hosted a Paralympics and Briscoe has stated the Town is “on an accessibility journey”.
“We know their bus services are a hundred per cent accessible,” she added. “The fleet of buses they’ve brought in for the athletes have six accessible wheelchair spaces on every bus. We know Paris have become more accessible because of the Games. Their metro system is a work in progress.
“The number of accessible bathrooms in hotels in Paris is still an issue, especially the older hotels. It’s one or two per hotel and that isn’t enough if you’re welcoming disabled athletes or spectators into the environment. It’s an accessibility challenge that is global. We had it in Tokyo.
“Paris’ objective in terms of legacy is to use the Games to create a more accessible society for Parisians and we have to support them on that journey, it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Baroness Gray-Thompson received a complete of 16 Paralympic medals around the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 4x100m relay between 1988 and 2004. She is ParalympicsGB’s fourth maximum adorned athlete of all date.
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