Blind passenger in legal action over stationn tracks plunge

A BLIND man who fell onto the tracks at Manchester Piccadilly railway station is taking legal action against Network Rail – alleging no tactile paving was in place on a platform’s edge, his solicitors have said

- PAUL BRITTON

Abdul Eneser, who was walking with a white cane at the time, said he was a minute away from being hit by a highspeed freight train as it passed through. He described it as ‘the most traumatic experience I have ever had to face as a visually impaired person’.

Speaking of his ordeal, the 20-yearold has called through his legal team for urgent action to improve provision for disabled people travelling on trains and through railway stations.

Mr Eneser, from Blackley, also alleges he was let down by ‘Passenger Assist’ arrangements, designed to provide assistance for disabled people to navigate a station and get on and off trains.

Tactile paving can be raised-profile paving slabs, metal studs or adhesive tiles capable of being felt through shoes or by mobility aids like canes. It’s used to warn blind and visually-impaired people they are approaching changes in layout or hazards like road crossings, flights of stairs – or platform edges.