I am sharing an article that I have read on the BBC website,  written by Adriana Elgueta from BBC News. I am taking no credit at all for this article but I feel it is important to share this important piece of news with my readers.  To read the original article by Adriana Elgueta, simply click on this paragraph.

It is hard to believe that a decorated Paralympian who has been made a Baroness by her rightfully proud country, can be made to feel so helpless by being a passenger on a train.

Think of the problems that the rest of the disabled community face on a daily basis and it is not possible for us to vent our anger through the BBC website. This is nothing against Tanni Grey-Thompson at all, but I would almost say that it is a good thing that this happened just to underline how far Britain needs to go to create a level playing field for all of society in the 21st  Century.

I met Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson briefly back in 2018 at the House of Parliament, Westminster. I was running the #SaveWILG Campaign back then and she agreed to have a photo with one of my SaveWILG postcards.

For this to happen to anyone is a disgrace, but it can also be seen as an opportunity – especially with the Paris Paralympics beginning later this evening.  It is important that people with disabilities unite – no matter whether they can compete in a sporting arena or whether they are in need of around the clock care and support.  Each voice deserves to be listened to regardless of their background.

Apart from wondering what the disabled parking situation is like at the Paralympics, I am looking beyond this to follow the athletes competing on a world stage that also live with Ataxia like me.  If anyone knows which athletes I should be following then please do drop me a line ASAP.

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Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was forced to “crawl off” an LNER train arriving at London’s King’s Cross.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the 11-time Paralympic gold medallist said she had initially booked assistance to help her off the 19:15 train from Leeds, but missed it and instead travelled on the 19:45.

She said she should have been helped off but after waiting for 20 minutes, no one arrived so she had to try to disembark herself.

LNER has said it is investigating what happened and said it was “sorry to understand there was an issue” at the station.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, who lives in Stockton, Teesside, said: “There was no one there to meet me and I waited five minutes before putting anything on social media because you’re meant to leave five minutes. After 16 minutes of waiting at King’s Cross, there was no one in sight.

“There were a couple of cleaners but they’re not insured or able to help me off. So I decided that I would crawl off the train.

“I’m going to Paris later today, I’ve got a few bags. I chucked them on the platform, I had to get out of my chair, sit on the floor by the door which is not pleasant and then crawl off.”

Although she went on the later train, she “had a contract” to be met at the other end.

“Legally I am allowed to turn up and ask to get on a train.

“We were meant to have level boarding in the UK on 1 January 2020 under the Disability and Discrimination Act but government has kicked the can down the road.

“I can just about get off the train if I need to, but there are loads of people that can’t.

“I can’t really crawl but sit on the floor and drag my legs. There was no one around and I was very angry last night.

“If the train manager hadn’t seen me crawling off, I would have had to pull the emergency cord and I would have delayed the train going north.”

An LNER spokesperson said: “We are sorry to understand there has been an issue at London King’s Cross station on Monday evening.

“We are in the process of investigating this and are in contact with the customer directly.”

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 required that all trains were to be made accessible by 2020, but many carriages still do not comply with the rules.

Alison Kerry, head of communications at disability equality charity Scope, said Baroness Grey-Thompson’s experience “is a sad reminder that far too often disabled people get treated like second-class citizens”.

“On the eve of the Paralympics it highlights how much further we need to go; it shouldn’t be this difficult for a wheelchair user to use public transport,” she added.

The Department for Transport has been approached for comment.

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