Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was forced to “crawl off” an LNER train arriving at London’s King’s Cross.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the 11-time Paralympic gold medallist said she had initially booked assistance to help her off the 19:15 train from Leeds, but missed it and instead travelled on the 19:45.
She said she should have been helped off the train but, after waiting for 20 minutes, no one arrived so she had to try to disembark herself.
LNER told the BBC it is investigating what happened and said it was “sorry to understand there was an issue” at the station.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, who lives in Stockton, Teesside, said: “There was no one there to meet me and I waited five minutes before putting anything on social media because you’re meant to leave five minutes. After 16 minutes of waiting at King’s Cross, there was no one in sight.
“There were a couple of cleaners but they’re not insured or able to help me off. So I decided that I would crawl off the train.”
Baroness Grey-Thompson said she had some bags with her but “chucked them on the platform.”
She added: “I had to get out of my chair, sit on the floor by the door which is not pleasant and then crawl off.”
Although she travelled on the later train, Baroness Grey-Thompson said she “had a contract” to be met at the other end.
She said: “Legally I am allowed to turn up and ask to get on a train. We were meant to have level boarding in the UK on 1 January 2020 under the Disability and Discrimination Act but government has kicked the can down the road.”
An LNER spokesperson told the BBC: “We are sorry to understand there has been an issue at London King’s Cross station on Monday evening. We are in the process of investigating this and are in contact with the customer directly.”
Alison Kerry, head of communications at disability equality charity Scope, said Baroness Grey-Thompson’s experience “is a sad reminder that far too often disabled people get treated like second-class citizens”.
She added: “On the eve of the Paralympics it highlights how much further we need to go; it shouldn’t be this difficult for a wheelchair user to use public transport.”
