West Midlands rail operator worst for accessible replacement transport
London Northwestern and West Midlands Railways recorded the largest gap between total and accessibility-compliant rail replacement services among UK operators, according to Freedom of Information data obtained by United Minibuses and Coaches.
The operator recorded 22,581 compliant services out of 23,208 provided between June 2025 and May 2026, around 97.3% compliance, leaving 627 services not recorded as compliant.
It also logged 14 complaints about inaccessible replacement transport during the period. Across the 14 organisations that supplied both total and compliant figures, 188,346 of 188,983 services were recorded as compliant.
Other operators recorded smaller gaps: Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern had six non-compliant services out of 15,442, Caledonian Sleeper had three out of 41, and South Western Railway had one out of 8,386. Northern Trains reported 99% compliance across its 11,161 services but did not provide the number of non-compliant services, so its figures were excluded from the overall calculation.
The research also found accessible taxis, minibuses or other alternative transport were provided on 408 occasions when disabled passengers could not use the advertised replacement service, with 204 complaints recorded in total across the 14 organisations.
From 1 August, new rules known as PSVAIR require rail replacement coaches to provide clear spoken announcements and visible displays showing route, destination and upcoming stops, separate from existing physical accessibility requirements.
Zubair Rasool, senior director at United Minibuses and Coaches, said the impact of an unsuitable replacement vehicle can be far greater for disabled passengers, who may be left stranded or in a vulnerable position when a service fails to meet their needs.
He said the figures suggest the industry is moving in the right direction, but the next step is closing the remaining gaps and improving how journeys are recorded.
