Rail Delivery Group’s World Cup of Stations is back. Its competition page sets out the idea:
Rail Delivery Group says the competition is “championing the stations that are creating and strengthening connections” and “celebrating the railway bringing people together“.
I checked how much those 20 stations are “strengthening connections” for disabled people.
Seven are rated theoretically step-free, with level or lift access to every platform. Six had at least one platform reachable only by steps. Berney Arms isn’t accessible by road, and its operator, Greater Anglia, advises wheelchair and scooter users not to use it. There’s no level boarding at nearly all stations; only one has level boarding and then only at two platforms – yet several stations have no staff for part or all of the day.
Welcome to our annual World Cup of Stations Competition where a group of shortlisted stations in Britain battle it out head-to-head in a public vote.
The theme for 2026 is the stations creating connections that matter.
Rail Delivery Group mentions access twice across its 20 station stories: “accessible improvements” at Banbury and “fully accessible” space for a karate club at Saltcoats. None of the stories says whether a wheelchair user can get from the street onto a train.
Several stories describe disabled people as people benefiting in a charitable way: adults with “additional needs” at Hindley, “people with learning disabilities and autism” at Crediton, residents living with dementia at South Tottenham, and adapted cyclists at Yatton. But only the Leeds story mentions disabled passengers.
Meanwhile, nominee Hindley has no step-free access to any platform, and Crediton and others have no staff assistance.
Rail Delivery Group chose the “connection” theme, yet selected the stations, published the stories and put them to a public vote without checking (or caring) whether disabled people can actually use the stations.
I think the competition, as framed, is disingenuous and insulting to disabled people.
Scores
I graded the accessibility of the stations. None of them are grade A. Leeds scores highest, at 83% – grade B because there’s no level boarding. 13 stations score D or E. Bishopstone scores lowest, at 13%.
I scored each station out of 110, using National Rail Enquiries data (despite being lamentably inaccurate), operator and Network Rail data as of 13 October 2026. Step-free access, level boarding and station staff presence constitute 70 of the 110 points. I deducted points for driver-only trains at unstaffed stations, documented lift failures, lack of road access, and reported assistance fails. Grades run from A (85% or more) to E (below 35%).
The grades hide lift failures. Network Rail closed both Thameslink lifts at St Pancras in June 2026 because they had become increasingly unreliable, and on 17 September Thameslink said they were still out of service. St Pancras still scores 73% because it is step-free on paper and staffed around the clock, even after I deducted the maximum 10 points for lift failures. Lifts have also failed repeatedly at South Tottenham and Laindon, and Irlam’s lifts were out of order on 13 October 2026.
| # | Station | Group | Score | Grade | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | East Coast and East Midlands | 83% | B | Lifts, staff at all hours and a Changing Places toilet; boarding needs a ramp |
| 2= | Kilmarnock | Scotland | 73% | B | Lifts and staff until midnight; a larger than usual step onto trains |
| 2= | St Pancras International | South | 73% | B | Thameslink lifts closed for three months in 2026; level boarding on the Thameslink platforms only |
| 4 | Banbury | North West and West Midlands | 72% | B | Lifts and staff for nearly all train hours; one reported refusal to board |
| 5 | South Tottenham | South | 61% | C | Lifts and staff whenever trains run; three lift outages in 90 days; no accessible toilet |
| 6 | Yatton | Wales and the West | 58% | C | Platform change by road bridge; staff on mornings only |
| 7 | Laindon | East Coast and East Midlands | 53% | C | No staff help listed after 21:00 or at weekends; c2c trains carry no staff |
| 8 | Stow | Scotland | 48% | D | Level platforms; no staff, seating or toilets |
| 9= | Cardross | Scotland | 47% | D | Platform change by level crossing or stairs; driver-only trains after 14:15 |
| 9= | Saltcoats | Scotland | 47% | D | Stepped footbridge between platforms; driver-only trains after staff leave |
| 11 | Basildon | East Coast and East Midlands | 46% | D | Platforms propped since 2021; no staff help listed after 21:00; c2c trains carry no staff |
| 12 | Brookwood | South | 39% | D | Steps to platform 2; a 1:7 ramp to platform 1; no staff help |
| 13 | Haltwhistle | North West and West Midlands | 38% | D | Stepped footbridge or road route between platforms; no staff |
| 14 | Par | Wales and the West | 37% | D | Steps to the platforms for London, Plymouth and Newquay trains |
| 15= | Crediton | Wales and the West | 36% | D | Barnstaple platform reached by road and level crossing; no staff |
| 15= | Haverfordwest | Wales and the West | 36% | D | Steps to platform 2; sloping platforms |
| 17 | Hindley | North West and West Midlands | 26% | E | No step-free access to any platform until spring 2027 |
| 18 | Berney Arms | East Coast and East Midlands | 25% | E | No road; operator advises wheelchair users not to use it |
| 19 | Irlam | North West and West Midlands | 22% | E | Lifts out of order on 13 October 2026; no staff |
| 20 | Bishopstone | South | 13% | E | Stairs to the platform; no staff |
The highest-scoring stations in each area accessibility-wise are: Leeds, Kilmarnock, Banbury, St Pancras International and Yatton.
Station Stories:
Rail Delivery Group’s stories leave out what disabled passengers experience at stations.
Berney Arms. Rail Delivery Group says it is “reached by rail, boat, foot or bicycle” and opens Norfolk’s marshes “to explorers from near and far“. National Rail Enquiries, which Rail Delivery Group runs, says the station “is only accessible by boat or by walking a considerable distance off-road and across fields, so it is not advisable to use this station if you use a wheelchair or a mobility scooter.” @LordOrk quoted that warning on 13 October under the words “Berney Arms wins World Cup of Inaccessible stations“.
Bishopstone. Rail Delivery Group says Bishopstone’s volunteers give “hundreds of local people friendship, purpose and a genuine sense of belonging“. Southern rates the station category C: stairs lead from the footbridge to the platform, and there’s no staff. The Friends of Bishopstone Station say there is no disabled access to the platform.
Hindley. Rail Delivery Group says Hindley’s partnership with Thrive CIC “helps young people and adults with additional needs build skills, confidence and meaningful connections“. Hindley has no step-free access to any platform. Its staff leave at 12:40 on weekdays. A £6.5 million scheme to add lifts began in February 2026 and is unfinished.
Par. Rail Delivery Group says Par’s volunteers gain experience in “passenger assistance” and build “independence“. Only platform 1, for trains towards Penzance, is step-free. A stepped bridge leads to the platforms for London.
Crediton. Rail Delivery Group says people with learning disabilities and autism “travel from across Devon” to the music and arts space at Crediton station. The station has no staff. GWR tells passengers needing help to find the on-board team.
Saltcoats. Rail Delivery Group says Saltcoats has a “fully accessible home” for a karate club. The station’s footbridge has steps only. Its staff leave between 13:00 and 16:00, depending on the day, and ScotRail then runs driver-only trains – with a ticket examiner rostered (fingers crossed).
Brookwood. Rail Delivery Group says Brookwood has “an inclusive garden“. Platform 2, for trains towards Basingstoke and Alton, has steps only, and there’s a 1:7 ramp to platform 1. South Western Railway states no staff help is available at the station.
St Pancras International. Rail Delivery Group says St Pancras makes “every journey feel like the start of something special“. ITV London reported in August 2025 that a wheelchair user was stranded for 40 minutes when the lift failed. Network Rail closed both Thameslink lifts from June to mid-September 2026 because they had become increasingly unreliable. On 17 September, Thameslink said that “the St Pancras lifts remain out of service until we are advised otherwise“. On 13 October, Christiane Link posted: “St Pancras wins the World Cup of broken lifts.“
Irlam. Rail Delivery Group praises Irlam’s tours, school visits and café. A £5.75 million scheme added lifts at Irlam in 2025. National Rail Enquiries said on 13 October 2026 that the lifts between platform 2 and the underpass were out of order. The station has no staff.
Banbury. Rail Delivery Group mentions Banbury’s “accessible improvements“. Banbury has lifts and staff for nearly all train hours. On 14 February, a passenger posted that a CrossCountry guard would not let his disabled wife board although “we had a ramp waiting“, leaving them an hour for the next train.
Leeds. Rail Delivery Group praises Leeds for “pioneering assistance for vulnerable and neurodivergent passengers“. Leeds has lifts, staff at all hours and a Changing Places toilet with a shower, and thus it scores highest. But it has no level boarding, and a powerchair user on Euan’s Guide found the lifts small and busy. I know that one small, unreliable and smelly lift serves platforms 9 to 17.
Ramps and staff
None of the stations have Level Boarding throughout. St Pancras has raised humps beside the middle carriages on its Thameslink platforms alone. Greater Anglia’s trains possibly give level boarding at Berney Arms, but there’s no road access so you’re stuck on the platform. The others have no level boarding, and the operator at Kilmarnock warns that the step between train and platform is larger than usual.
National Rail Enquiries states there’s staff help at Laindon and Basildon on weekdays, but you’re stuffed after 9pm. c2c’s accessibility leaflet says its trains are “operated without any staff on board“, so there’s nobody to deploy a ramp after 21:00. It tells passengers to call from a help point, and promises alternative accessible transport, such as a taxi. I wouldn’t rely on it.
ScotRail only staffs Cardross and Saltcoats of a morning, then runs driver-only trains with a ticket examiner rostered, but trains can run without one.
The Sussex Express reported that a disabled festival organiser could not board a Seaford to Brighton train because there were no staff on board to deploy the ramp.
Stow, Haltwhistle, Crediton, Irlam and Berney Arms have no station staff, so boarding assistance depends on the guard.
Lift Me Up… please
Official sources recorded long or repeated lift failures in the past year at St Pancras and Irlam, and repeated failures at South Tottenham and Laindon.
Irlam’s lifts opened in 2025. TransPennine Express posted on 17 January 2026 that “the lifts will be out of order from now until further notice at #Irlam station“, and National Rail Enquiries showed the lifts to platform 2 out of order on 13 October 2026.
TfL’s lift data shows three outages in 90 days at South Tottenham. TfL Access posted that a faulty lift had cut step-free access there on 24 June, 10 July, 22 August, 25 August and 1 October.
c2c told a passenger on 3 February that Basildon’s lifts were out of service and to “consider Laindon as the next option“. On 13 February, a passenger asked c2c to fix Laindon’s lifts: “Both sets broken. Why are they broken yet again?!” c2c posted in May that the lifts between platforms 3 and 1 at Laindon were out of order again.
The Office of Rail and Road publishes national lift figures: 4.03 faults per lift from April to October 2025, each taking 19.4 hours on average to repair.
Insult to disabled people
It is profoundly offensive for Rail Delivery Group to allow “world cup of stations” finalist stations without step-free access, with insufficient staffed hours and unsuitable boarding arrangements.
If it is going to list them, the minimum it should do is publish access information beside its competition entries.
Rail Delivery Group must also correct National Rail Enquiries, which describes Bishopstone as fully step-free and Irlam as having no lifts.
Network Rail and the station operators must make the current lowest-accessibility-scoring stations accessible. Par’s lift needs £2.2 million. Brookwood and Haverfordwest each have one platform that can only be reached via steps, and Bishopstone has no step-free access at all. To laud these access failures is offensive.
c2c, ScotRail and Southern must guarantee on-board staff to deploy a ramp whenever their trains call at these stations, and in my opinion Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road should publish lift reliability statistics for each station.
Method to the Accessibility Madness
I invented the scoring system. I used data from National Rail Enquiries, the operators and Network Rail, checked on 13 October 2026, and where sources disagreed (which of course they shouldn’t!) I used the more cautious figure.
I made deductions for reported lift and assistance failures, based on my unscientific searches of reviews, forums, local and disability press, and of posts on Twitter. Busy stations attract more posts, so I capped deductions at 6 points per station, though in the end no station lost more than 3.
I’m very aware that my scoring system is far from perfect in that it doesn’t reflect wayfinding, the sensory environment, neurodivergence or the quality of help.
My full report gives more detail on my scoring system.