'Rail strikes are a nuisance. But if plans to ditch guards and ticket offices go ahead, people like me will be housebound'
“Without the guards and help from staff my independence would be totally compromised and I would just not be able to get from A to B,” Kevin Greenan explains in his genial Irish brogue. “I would be virtually housebound, that’s how important the rail service is for me.”
The pensioner can also be found heading north to Littleborough, where he attends meetings of the University of the Third Age - an organisation for retired people who want to keep their minds active. But Kevin fears his life could be brought to a standstill under proposals to get rid of guards from trains and close ticket offices across the country.
“If someone needed a ramp to get on a train and there were no guards there to help put it on, how would they get on without the driver coming down?” he adds. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Play now “It would be a very bad idea to use your phone up here,” Kevin says, wary of the situation it could put him in.
"They [the strikes] are inconvenient and a nuisance but I can understand why they are doing it. As well as looking for extra money they are also trying to protect their jobs, that's why I support them." At the time of writing it had been backed by 134 organisations, including The Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People , Disability Rights UK and Vision Support. NFBUK is calling on the Transport Secretary to rule out closures to ticket offices and removing guards from trains. They say the plans would be unacceptable, unsafe and unworkable.
They added: “We want to modernise the railway by moving staff onto platforms to provide more face-to-face assistance and our Passenger Assist app is ensuring those with disabilities receive assistance quicker than ever.”
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