Tanni Grey-Thompson told there was 'no room' on train for her

[Deleted]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42466312

Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has said she was stopped from boarding a train after a passenger told staff there wasn't space for her.

She said in a tweet: "Merry Christmas to the person on the train who just stopped me getting on. Told member of staff 'there's no room for her'."

"Everyone else waiting on the platform got on," added Baroness Grey-Thompson, a wheelchair user with 11 gold medals.

The athlete explained in further tweets that the passenger "wouldn't move".

Baroness Grey-Thompson, 48, said this put the member of train staff in an "awkward position".

She later returned to Twitter to say she would not be commenting further on her experience, and described her original tweet as "a moment in time".

But she did pay tribute to the "lovely" station staff.

News of the incident was greeted with shock by other social media users, including the columnist Grace Dent - while some questioned why the train staff had not intervened.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, one of Britain's most successful disabled athletes, was named a Life Peer in 2010 and also sits on the BBC Board.

Since retiring in 2007, the Cardiff-born athlete has become the patron of numerous charities, including Sportsaid Foundation and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme, and was appointed Chancellor of Northumbria University.

Earlier this year, Paralympian Anne Wafula-Strike said she was left "humiliated" after wetting herself on a rail journey because the disabled toilet was out of order.

She eventually received a financial settlement over the lack of accessible toilets on the three-hour journey.

The wheelchair racer said: "To my amazement the toilet was boarded up with a sign saying it was out of order."

Wish I could say this shocked me

[Spectral]

Sooo... was there space for her?

[Deleted]

A wheelchair takes up a lot of space to be fair, and looking at how crammed trains can get sometimes it's not always going to fit.

And indeed, the question is was there actually not enough space for her or was there? Some people love to pull the victim card a bit too much.

[Kraenen]

A wheelchair takes up a lot of space to be fair, and looking at how crammed trains can get sometimes it's not always going to fit.

And indeed, the question is was there actually not enough space for her or was there? Some people love to pull the victim card a bit too much.

From what little I know the probability is on the side of a paralympian not pulling a victim card.

[Deleted]

Dont see how another passenger has any say in the matter tho.

[Deleted]

Some people love to pull the victim card a bit too much.

yeah im sure that 11 gold medal paralympics winner is a real crying snowflake

[slime]

I don't get it. Another passenger makes the decision if there is room or not?

[Spectral]

Dont see how another passenger has any say in the matter tho.

Hard to know - the story is weird. It might literally have been a passenger that looked in the train and then said, "there's not any room for you". I don't really get the story, but I feel like I'm missing something.

[Lochton]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42466312



Wish I could say this shocked me

Seems a bit weird that a passenger suddenly tries to do the staff's job.

[Deleted]

Hard to know - the story is weird. It might literally have been a passenger that looked in the train and then said, "there's not any room for you". I don't really get the story, but I feel like I'm missing something.

Well from personal experience I have had people sit in disabled bays or put bikes there and say "Sorry full" despite rules been one has to move if a wheelchair user enters. A conductor once had to argue with a drunk cyclist over this

[Captain N]

Dont see how another passenger has any say in the matter tho.

Some really shitty people ride trains. I could share all kinds of stories about the people who refuse to give up their folding seats so that disabled persons can move their wheel chairs into position. I could share stories about how people will put their bags on an adjacent seat during rush hours and then complain to the Conductor when someone asks them to move their bags so they can sit down.

There's a reason Commuter Engineers and Conductors go to a "Charm School" -- it's to deal with the excessive amount of stupid and whining that passengers do on a regular basis.

[Graeham]

If there isn't any room, there isn't any room. I was stuck on a train last month on the way home from a three day trip and due to delays and a suicide on the track the carriage was full to bursting. Someone with a wheelchair was brought on board, taking up a significant amount of room in the process - and people were already squeezed together in the aisles. It was hell.

More people wanted to get on, they couldn't - because there wasn't any room at all. One person on the train I was on fainted due to overheating - and I was left with cuts on my feet due to standing up for hours and having people step on them. I ended up getting compensation in the form of a full refund and free first class tickets due to how bad it was.

There's two sides to every story. Would it be possible to squeeze her on? Maybe - at the cost of the safety and comfort of a considerable number of people.

[Deleted]

If there isn't any room, there isn't any room. I was stuck on a train last month on the way home from a three day trip and due to delays and a suicide on the track the carriage was full to bursting. Someone with a wheelchair was brought on board, taking up a significant amount of room in the process - and people were already squeezed together in the aisles. It was hell.

More people wanted to get on, they couldn't - because there wasn't any room at all. One person on the train I was on fainted due to overheating - and I was left with cuts on my feet due to standing up for hours and having people step on them. I ended up getting compensation in the form of a full refund and free first class tickets due to how bad it was.

There's two sides to every story. Would it be possible to squeeze her on? Maybe - at the cost of the safety and comfort of a considerable number of people.

Are you riding Indian trains?

[Rustedsaint]

Shouldn’t been the other passenger deciding if there was room or not.
If there wasn’t room the staff shoulda told her

[Graeham]

Are you riding Indian trains?

It was a Virgin train, from London to Edinburgh.

[Bronan]

Why is a baroness traveling by low class public transportation?

[Dys]

If the staff didn't bother to check on the situation to confirm or deny the claim, she should seek legal retribution, not run to social media to spin her web of biased story telling. Priorities speak volumes to character.

[volescue]

Why is a baroness traveling by low class public transportation?

Damn. Damned if they do, damned if they don't, huh?

[Bronan]

If the staff didn't bother to check on the situation to confirm or deny the claim, she should seek legal retribution, not run to social media to spin her web of biased story telling. Priorities speak volumes to character.

Basically if you complain to the company, they'll shrug and say there is nothing they can do, and then show you the door. Only if you go to the media, will you actually make the company give a crap about your story, because it hurts THEM.

[Deleted]

In my country you need to reserve room on the train a few days beforehand if you're in a wheelchair, else you're not allowed on.

Glad I don't live in your country