Disabled man denied access to train at Homerton station over ‘made-up rule’

Zac sat in the train doors at Homerton Overground Station. Photograph: courtesy of Zac Kaplowitz

A train company is holding an investigation after a disabled man claimed he was not allowed to board an Overground train with friends.

Hackney resident Zac Kaplowitz said that staff refused to let him and his four friends board an Overground train at Homerton Station last month, saying only two wheelchair users could access the train at once.

Speaking to the Citizen, he said: “It was frustrating and upsetting to have the staff, who we rely on to access the train due to the lack of level boarding, impose made-up rules on us and then refuse to provide any assistance.

“No other passenger’s ability to travel is at the whims of station staff. It was a shocking incident of discrimination.”

Arriva Rail London, which operates the London Overground, launched an investigation into the incident which TfL has supported.

Mr Kaplowitz, who uses a mobility scooter, attended Homerton Station accompanied by a group of four other wheelchair users in late September to catch a train to Kensington Olympia.

But after approaching the assistance desk, Mr Kaplowitz said staff informed him that only two of them would be able to make the journey.

Mr Kaplowitz said: “I simply said no and he said he would check but five of us together could delay the train.

“Another member of staff then came out of the office, looked at our group, and said ‘wow, you want to take your own train’.”

While there may be occasions where multiple wheelchair users cannot be safely accommodated on a single train due to space limitations, there is no fixed policy limiting the number of wheelchair users per train, a TfL spokesman said.

Staff then told Mr Kaplowitz that he would need to “exercise his patience”, he said.

Mr Kaplowitz said: “Weird comments are hardly uncommon, but this one did really set the tone for the experience that followed. Making disabled people feel guilty for taking up more space with their mobility aids is ableist.”

Seeing no other way to make the journey, Mr Kaplowitz said he agreed to take the train with one of his friends. But when the train arrived no member of staff was at the platform to assist them on board.

When the train doors opened, Mr Kaplowitz got off his mobility scooter and sat in the doorway to prevent it from leaving.

With the train unable to move, the train driver approached the group and Mr Kaplowitz explained what had happened.

The driver then got the ramp out, allowing Mr Kaplowitz and his four friends to board the train, and comforted the group. The train departed six minutes late.

Mr Kaplowitz said: “I have had countless bad experiences with station staff but only good experiences with train drivers, and this was no exception.

“Having him step in and take control of the situation was a massive relief and he could not have done a better job making up for the awful service provided by the station staff.

“Had we followed the made-up rule of two per train, the first two would have waited half an hour for the rest of the group to arrive.

“Nobody else’s journey takes half an hour longer because they’re with four other people.”

Mr Kaplowitz said the incident was the “worst” he had encountered, but said issues with the transport network were a “common occurrence”.

In the past six months Mr Kaplowitz said he has made six complaints to TFL and three to other rail operators over failures to provide assistance.

Mark Evers, TfL’s lead on customer insight, strategy & experience, said: “Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect when they travel on our services, and we were deeply shocked by Mr Kaplowitz’s account of how he and his friends were treated by staff at Homerton London Overground station.

“We have been in contact with Mr Kaplowitz and we have reminded staff about the standards of customer service we expect and the protocols for assisting customers with accessibility needs.”

Customers can pre-book Passenger Assist staff assistance in advance on London Overground, the Elizabeth line and at 30 London Underground stations as part of the National Rail Passenger Assist service.

More information about Passenger Assist is available here.