§ Lord Davies of OldhamMy honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Charotte Atkins) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
The Government have today announced that their preferred end date by which all rail vehicles will have 16WS to meet the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998 (RVAR) is 2020. They have also announced that they intend to require access improvements to those features which are included in plans when rail vehicles are being refurbished.
The announcement follows the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Bill in the House of Lords on Thursday 25 November. The Bill includes powers to give effect to these measures.
Draft regulations covering these proposals, which apply to England, Scotland and Wales, will be the subject of a public consultation process during the passage of the Bill. Northern Ireland will be holding its own separate consultation process on these issues in due course.