Craig Mackinlay MP has joined the charity, Guide Dogs, in calling for warning tactile to be installed on the platforms at Dumpton Park and Sandwich train stations in his South Thanet constituency by 2026.
Warning tactile is a vital orientation and safety measure that warns blind and partially sighted people when they are close to the platform edge.
The move comes after a visually impaired passenger had a fatal accident in February 2020 after falling from the platform edge at a station in South East England and was struck by an approaching train. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) investigation found that: “The platform edge was not fitted with tactile surface markings intended to assist visually impaired people. This is a possible causal factor”.
Craig is lobbying Network Rail, the Rail Delivery Group and train operating companies such as Southeastern Trains to take steps to reduce the risk to visually impaired people using station platforms where tactile surfaces have not yet been installed.
Craig Mackinlay MP commented:
“There are approximately 56,200 people living with sight loss in the county of Kent and they deserve to know they will be safe on our train stations’ platforms.
“However, the latest data from Network Rails shows that a third of station platforms in Great Britain do not have warning tactile which is an essential safety feature for blind and partially sighted people when they are close to the platform edge.
“That’s why I’m joining with the blind charity, Guide Dogs, to call for warning tactile to be installed on those platforms that do not already benefit from it, including Dumpton Park station and Sandwich station in my South Thanet constituency.”