The Beeb is currently going on about the closure of manned ticket offices at railway stations, and I suppose that, as a disability access issue, I should probably say something about it. Truth be told, I don’t use national rail much these days, and haven’t had to buy a rail ticket in years. I use London transport and the tube quite a bit of course, and wrote about my issues with oyster cards etc a couple of weeks ago (Incidentally, the Freedom Pass I ordered still hasn’t arrived for some reason). Yet when it comes to national rail, I haven’t had that much experience recently. When I was first going out with Lyn and coming to visit her from Crewe, however, I used to buy tickets from the offices: I used to talk to a member of staff there using my communication aid, where I could buy my ticket and arrange the wheelchair access ramps I needed. My concern is, without manned stations, these days that would be much harder. There is no way I could use a ticket machine, so I would need to bring a personal assistant with me to do it for me, or just order the ticket online. But then, how would I arrange ramps and make sure someone is there to put them in place when I need to get on and off the train?

To be honest the whole idea puts me off using national rail. That’s a shame, because the whole system used to be great: I remember how exuberant I felt when I first found I could use trains without having anyone with me – it was a huge step forward towards my independence. Now, though, trains might once again be out of bounds, not just for me but for many people with disabilities.