I think I’ve said here before how much I like London public transport: as a wheelchair/powerchair user, I really appreciate the fact that I can easily get on and off busses and increasingly the tube, and pretty much go where I like. In a while I plan to head out into the metropolis and head where I want to go with ease. However, the fact remains I was born and grew up in the North of England. As a wheelchair user up there, I found myself very much restrained. For one, the ramps on busses weren’t even automatic, so bus drivers had to grudgingly get out of their cabs to put their ramps out for me. Getting between towns was a real hassle, so it wasn’t until I moved to London, with it’s world-class metropolitan transport system, that I experienced the type of public transport freedom most other people have.

Interestingly though, I just came across this video from TLDR News about the so-called Northern Powerhouse Rail Project. The plan is to create a world-class rail network, uniting cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. Not that I’m turning into some kind of railway geek, but I must admit I find that pretty exciting. Presumably, any new infrastructure will be accessible, so guys like me are going to be able to get across the region, between towns and cities far, far easier. The whole area will be opened up for wheelchair users and become far more inviting. As a Cheshire Lad I certainly find that positive: it seems the rest of the country is at last receiving the investment and attention London alone has got for far too long. Surely guys like me have as much right to get where we need to go as anyone else, and I frankly find the fact that there’s still a sizeable imbalance between London and the rest of the country, in terms of public transport, especially accessible public transport, rather perverse.