Wheelchair User Forced to Crawl Off Train After GWR Accessibility Failure

A 24-year-old wheelchair user has described how she was reduced to tears after being forced to crawl on her hands and knees through a train because staff told her a ramp could not be used to help her disembark. Phoebe Tesoriere, who lived in Caerphilly at the time of the incident, was travelling on a Great Western Railway (GWR) service from London Paddington to Bath Spa in December 2025 when the ordeal unfolded.

Phoebe, a former Cardiff University student, has hereditary spastic paraplegia, a genetic condition listed by the NHS that causes progressive weakness and stiffness in the leg muscles. She requires a wheelchair for mobility, and as her condition is expected to deteriorate over time, reliable assistance from transport providers is essential to her ability to travel independently. Her family had taken the trip to London as a Christmas gift for her parents, attending a concert the night before, and were returning to Bath, where Phoebe now lives, when the journey took a distressing turn.

Before boarding, Phoebe's family spoke to the assistance desk and were escorted to the only designated wheelchair space on the train. Her mother, Kirstin Tesoriere, specifically asked whether a ramp and assistance would be waiting at Bath Spa, and the family said they were assured it would be. Staff on the train checked multiple times which station Phoebe would be disembarking at, according to Phoebe. Despite these repeated confirmations, she was not informed that the carriage she had been directed to would stop beyond the usable platform, meaning a ramp could not be deployed to get her off safely.

When the train arrived at Bath Spa, Phoebe said staff told her and her family to remain on board and travel onward to Bristol Temple Meads, a further 15 to 20 minutes away, before purchasing new tickets back to Bath Spa so she could exit the train. The family explained this was not feasible because Phoebe's grandparents were waiting at Bath Spa station to collect them and drive her back to Caerphilly, where she was living at the time. With no viable alternative offered, staff then suggested Phoebe attempt to manoeuvre her wheelchair through the train's aisle, but the chair did not fit.

Faced with no other option, Phoebe crawled through three carriages to reach an exit. "I was crying. People were staring," she said. She recalled how one passenger reached down to stroke her back and apologised, telling her that what was happening was not acceptable. Phoebe described the gesture as an attempt at comfort that instead made her feel "like a dog" in front of a carriage of onlookers. Her parents ultimately had to lift her back into her wheelchair so she could leave the train using the ramp, but no staff were waiting to assist her at that point.

Kirstin Tesoriere said watching her daughter's ordeal was "traumatic" and left her feeling "helpless". She described the memory as vivid and haunting, saying that when she closes her eyes she can still see the pity on other passengers' faces and the humiliation her daughter endured. The family has not used public transport since the incident, with Kirstin explaining that Phoebe is now scared and has already lost so much to her diagnosis. "You just want your children to be happy," she said, adding that she had hoped to make lovely memories with her daughter on the trip.

GWR responded to the incident by saying it was "really sorry" and admitting that "we let her down, both when we helped her board and at several points during her journey." The company acknowledged that Phoebe's overall experience was "extremely poor" in its formal response to her complaint and took accountability for the failures that occurred. It also confirmed that Phoebe would receive compensation for what happened.

However, Phoebe filed a formal complaint with GWR on the day of the incident, and she says the investigation was not completed until May — a delay of several months. Despite providing her bank details as requested, she says she has still not received any compensation. She further claims that GWR has "ignored every email I have sent" since June, leaving her feeling that the company's apology has not been matched by meaningful action. Nearly nine months after she first complained, Phoebe says she is still fighting to get a proper answer.

Phoebe's mother acknowledged that mistakes were made on the day but believes the way her daughter has been treated since the incident is "inexcusable." She said she cannot forgive the company for allowing an already traumatic experience to drag on for months through unanswered correspondence and unfulfilled commitments. For the family, the failure was not a single moment of poor service but an ongoing pattern of inaction that compounded the original harm.

Phoebe's case highlights broader concerns about accessibility across the UK's rail network, where wheelchair users often depend on pre-booked assistance and staff availability to board and leave trains safely. When that assistance fails — whether through miscommunication about platform lengths, inadequate carriage design, or ramp availability — disabled passengers can be left stranded or forced into dangerous and undignified situations. Phoebe said people assume "everything is accessible these days, but it really isn't," and she is calling for substantial improvements to accessible transport.

She argued it is "ridiculous that disabled passengers are still expected to go through this," stressing that no disabled passenger should ever have to crawl to exit a train. Her experience raises questions about staff training, communication between assistance desks and onboard crew, and whether railway infrastructure is genuinely designed to accommodate all passengers. For Phoebe, whose condition will worsen over time, the stakes are personal and urgent, as accessible transport is not a convenience but a necessity for maintaining independence and quality of life.

The incident also underscores the emotional toll that accessibility failures take not only on disabled travellers but on their families and fellow passengers. Kirstin described the humiliation of watching strangers witness her daughter's struggle, and the family's decision to avoid public transport since then illustrates how a single failure can erode confidence in the entire system. Advocacy groups have long argued that reliable and dignified travel is a fundamental right, and that apologies and compensation, while important, cannot substitute for systemic change that prevents such incidents from happening again.

GWR has faced repeated criticism in recent years over accessibility shortcomings, and Phoebe's case adds to a growing body of testimony from disabled passengers who say their needs are treated as an afterthought. The company's admission of fault acknowledges the severity of what happened, but Phoebe's continued wait for compensation and answers suggests that accountability in practice remains incomplete. For her part, Phoebe says she wants to see real improvements so that others do not endure what she did, insisting that no one should have to fight for basic dignity when simply trying to get home.