A DISABLED rights activist was left stranded alone on a train after a staff blunder saw them forget to put a wheelchair ramp down for her.
Katie Pennick arrived at Highbury and Islington station on the London Overground yesterday but faced a serious dilemma when no route down from the carriage was provided.
With the emergency button out of reach and all the other passengers gone, Katie was forced to yell from the door of the train in a desperate attempt to get some help.
Filming the incident, Katie pans the camera around to reveal that she sits alone in her carriage as a man, who appears to be a member of the cleaning team, walks down the train away from her.
She explains: “The train has pulled in at Highbury and Islington, the ramp hasn’t met me, everyone’s gotten off the train and the cleaner has gone to try and look for someone for me.”
She lets out a giggle of disbelief and films the step from the train to the platform, proving that she is unable to get off the carriage.
Stumbling over her words and clearly bewildered by the situation, Katie exclaims: “I just can’t get off the train.”
She then pokes her head out of the carriage door, filming down the platform where commuters can be seen gathered at the far end.
Attempting to get their attention, she yells: “Is there anyone – hello?”
Receiving no acknowledgement from her plea, she tries again, saying: “Hello, please can someone let me off the train?”
Katie then flips the camera to film herself, sarcastically saying: “Love this, love this for me.”
Looking out across the rainy platform, no passengers respond to Katie as she yells again: “Hello?”
She then asks herself, “Is no one going to help me?” before seemingly becoming more exasperated and shouting down the platform once more: “Excuse me, hello? Can someone get me off this train?”
Still receiving no response from any of the people milling about on the platform, Katie backs up into the carriage and turns the camera on herself as she jokingly says: “I guess I live here now.
“I guess I just live here.”
Katie shared the footage to social media yesterday with the caption: “[Point of view]: you’re a wheelchair user and the staff haven’t turned up with a ramp, so you’re trapped on an empty train.
“The emergency alarm is out of my reach, so I have to rely on my shouting skills. How would you feel if there was a risk of this happening every time you use the train?”
The video has since received over 18,000 likes and more than 400 comments from users left shocked at the situation she was left in.
One user said: “I’m so sorry this happened. They should install a permanent ramp for wheelchairs. I’m surprised this hasn’t been done already.”
Another added: “I would be livid. Not just about the inconvenience, but the sheer disrespect. It’s like my existence is an afterthought.
“It would push me to become the loudest, most relentless disability rights activist on the planet. If this happened regularly, every train company and politician would know my name.”
A third commented: “The same way people walk by someone needing help. The UK looks nice but some of the people aren’t. You can see for yourself here.”
Another replied: “Got to love all those helpful Londoners. Best place in the world to live.”
Speaking today (FRI), Mark Evers, Transport for London’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “We’re deeply sorry for the stressful experience that Katie Pennick has had while travelling with us and we are urgently looking into this incident with Arriva Rail London, who operate the London Overground on our behalf, to understand what happened.
“Making public transport more accessible and inclusive is a top priority for us.”
