29 Jul 2026

Disability Pride Month is a time to recognise, celebrate and honour the achievements and diverse lived experiences of disabled people. It’s also an opportunity to raise awareness of the barriers people still face and promote inclusion, accessibility and equality across society and in work.

This July we spotlight the work of our Disabled People’s Travel Panel. It helps ensure our trains, buses, stations, interchanges and bus stops are accessible and inclusive for everyone, all-year round. 

People use our transport network daily to visit friends and family, get to work and access healthcare, education and leisure. Creating a network that works for everyone is central to what we do. We want everyone to travel with confidence, independence and dignity. 

The 21 people on the Panel provide essential insight from their own lived experiences of using public transport. They play an active role advising on, testing, implementing and improving accessible travel solutions. 

Here are just some of the things they’ve helped us achieve.

Safer platforms  

• Tactile paving on our platform edges is a vital safety measure for visually impaired people. Integrated ramps on our Class 756, 231 and 398 trains also improve train-platform access.  

Accessible stations  

• Twelve stations across Wales are being upgraded to meet modern accessibility standards through Access for All. Work’s underway at Cathays on a brand-new footbridge to enable step-free lift access for wheelchair users, improved walkways and direct access to Cardiff University's Centre for Student Life. 

More customers travelling with confidence 

• A record 75,339 passengers travelled with confidence in 2024/25, thanks to our Passenger Assist service. It provides support at each stage of the journey – from journey planning and buying tickets to help getting on and off trains. Colleagues are trained to

Independent travel at Cardiff Bus Interchange 

• Supported by wayfinding map boards with braille and tactile elements and static bus bays. Our sign language videos about onsite facilities have audio descriptions in Welsh and English. There’s also a wide concourse, making it easier for wheelchair users to move around.    

Digital accessibility 

• Accessibility is built into our customer-facing digital tools and apps. For example, we’ve used WhatsApp to enable customers (including those who may find voice communication challenging) to make real‑time enquiries and receive timely responses.

BSL app 

• We use the British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation app, enabling two‑way communication between BSL users and non‑BSL users. It meets customer needs, from urgent matters to onward travel advice or ticket queries.

Training 

• Each year, our Disabled People’s Travel Panel supports diversity and accessibility training for 1,200 rail colleagues. This strengthens understanding of the barriers and challenges disabled people face when travelling. 

Dr Robert Gravelle, Accessibility and Inclusion Manager, said: 

“There’s no better way to make a service accessible and inclusive than involving people who know how challenging public transport can be if you have a disability. The advice and honest feedback Panel members provide shapes our services to reflect the real needs of the people we serve. 

“We get customer feedback saying that level boarding, new passenger lifts, the passenger assist service and other accessibility measures have transformed people’s confidence to travel on public transport, which is very satisfying.  

 “TfW’s expanding remit, adding walking, wheeling and cycling initiatives to bus and train travel will give us new challenges to explore in the future but we remain committed to making door-to-door journeys using public transport accessible for everyone.”  

Andrea Gordon, Chair of TfW's Disabled Travel Panel, said: 

“The DPTP is a group of disabled people who are frequent users of public transport. All the views we share with TfW come from actual experience of the barriers we encounter, as well as celebrating great customer care. We hope to extend our involvement into bus services and work with TFW to ensure that all elements of every journey are inclusive. We believe that this is achievable and we challenge everyone involved to play their part.” 

To learn more about how we’re building an accessible transport network, visit https://tfw.wales/info-for/passengers/accessible-travel