TransPennine Express drops wheelchair-inaccessible trains

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Wheelchair on a platform in front of a train with doors partially openedImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The two trains were to run between Liverpool to Scarborough over the summer

Plans to use trains which are inaccessible for wheelchair users have been dropped.

TransPennine Express (TPE) was to reintroduce two Mark III trains on its Liverpool to Scarborough route from July.

The operator said it had abandoned the plan after discussions with the Department for Transport and the Rail North Partnership.

The 45-year-old trains will now just be used for driver training instead.

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The RMT union had described the scheme as "disgraceful" and claimed TPE was "ripping up the anti-discrimination legislation".

TPE said it was introducing new Nova trains from autumn 2018.

The government has said all trains had to be "fully accessible by 2020", external.

Image source, TransPennine Express
Image caption,

TransPennine Express said it was due to introduce a fleet of new trains in autumn

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