No go

I wanted to travel to London. I live in Mid-Wales, not the most connected of places but this is the 21^st Century so how hard could it be?

The Welsh National Legend, Micheal Sheen was giving a talk about underrepresented writers at the London Book Fair and he was going to mention my book.

How cool is that?

This was a big deal, I had a ticket and everything, I mean come on people, Michael ‘bloody’ Sheen. (that’s just what we call him in our house.) It was a chance to meet my new publishers and editor IRL, a chance to network and catch up with people I’d not seen for a while. This was proper grown up writers work.

So, I was going to London.

Only I wasn’t.

Now to be fair, a landslide on the tracks is no one’s fault. Yes, questions could be raised about maintenance, but things happen and there is no point in assigning blame – there is plenty of room for that later.

I’m a wheelchair user. This should make no difference, you’d think, what with it being the 21^st Century and all.

Ha! Ha! Ha! The sound of hollow laughter.

I check the National Rail website, which advises that I phone Avanti Trains to check what assistance I will need, seeing as there is a replacement bus service.

The woman I speak to is lovely and is really happy to help. Only she tells me there is no landslide and no replacement bus.

Now, National Rail know there is a landslide. Transport for Wales know there is a landslide. There’s a video on Facebook of the landslide along with lots of comments from angry tired passengers saying there are not enough replacement buses, and the journey is taking up to six hours longer. But according to Avanti we are all good, so I don’t need to worry about a thing.

The phantom replacement bus service runs from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton.

When I checked with Transport for Wales, they assured me Shrewsbury station is fully wheelchair accessible and I won’t need help.

I want to point out the time I travelled to Shrewsbury in my wheelchair only to be told the lift was out of order as i tried to get off the train. The guard told me I’d just have to go back home, but first I’d have to pay extra to travel to the next stop so I could access a lift to change platform. 

The TFL woman reassures me everything is fine.

A quick check on the National Rail website while we’re chatting, and I see that the lifts at Wolverhampton train station are not working. The station where I need to rejoin the train.

‘That’s in England,’ she points out helpfully,’ You need to call them direct, we only deal with Wales.

Another 10 minutes to find the number and I speak to West Midlands Rail who say yes the lifts are broken, no they don’t know when they will be fixed, but I should be advised that currently, I will not be able to access the station in a wheelchair.

I ask what she suggests.

‘Just turn up, someone will have to find you a taxi to the nearest accessible station.’

This has happened before. Getting dumped out of a taxi onto an isolated local station, late at night waiting for a train, er no thanks.

‘Call back in the morning and check the status of the lifts,’ she suggests.

It’s Monday. I want to travel on Wednesday to get to the event on Thursday.

I have now been on the phone for three hours. 

Another check on the website and it seems there is an epidemic of lift failures. Two of the stations where I need to make connections are reporting no access to lifts.

‘Can I still book a ticket and assistance in the morning?’ I ask, exhausted.

‘Yes, no problem,’ I’m assured.

I hit the website first thing, checking the status of lifts, the alignment of the moon and if everybody involved had had a good breakfast.

Online, I am refused a ticket.

I call Avanti again.

The helpful woman explains that there are no more advance tickets available. ‘You need to go to the station and buy the tickets on the day.’

‘But I need to book assistance on the trains, I need help getting on and off with my wheelchair and I need a wheelchair space on the train.’

‘You needed to book yesterday if you wanted to reserve a seat,’ she explains.

‘But I couldn’t because you couldn’t see there was a landslide on the track,’ I plead.

‘What landslide?’

According to the website to access assistance on the train you need to give just two hours’ notice. In my experience even a week is sometimes not sufficient.

‘You could go to the station early and buy your tickets for that day, then give us a call and we can see if we can get you some help,’ she suggests.

‘It’s a 6.30 am train,’ I remind her.

‘No, that won’t work.’

None of it works.

No one knows what is going on.

No one can tell me if I can get on or off a train at any point. No one can tell me if the replacement bus service is wheelchair accessible.

‘They are always wheelchair accessible.’ The woman from TFW tells me when I try to call her again.

‘Well, they weren’t in Preston, when the trains were stopped due to rain, and I was locked out of the station late at night by myself, in my wheelchair with the lovely drunks and winos who were outraged on my behalf.  In the end, National Rail got me a lift to Warrington and my husband drove from Wales to pick me up.

‘I only cover Wales,’ says the bored TFL woman.  

‘It’s bloody Welsh National Legend Michael ‘bloody’ Sheen,’ I want to shout down the phone, but it isn’t this poor lass’s fault.

How, in the 21^st Century, is it not possible to travel to London on a train, using a wheelchair?

In the end, I didn’t go.

I feel weak and defeated, like I’m being ridiculous,

 My Book. Micheal ‘bloody’ Sheen! At the London Book Fair!

And before you offer suggestions, the coach needed 36 hours’ notice for wheelchair access and travelling via Crewe and Outer Mongolia costs at least £300000000

And no, I don’t have the energy to make an official complaint. And I know you think I should be honestly, it’s exhausting and I don’t want to be a disability warrior, I just want to be able to get a train.

I want to book my train reservations for next year’s London Book Fair, I joke.

‘We don’t make reservations that far in advance,’ the nice Avanti woman explains, ‘we won’t know if the trains are running.’

No kidding.