A blind man who suffered a terrifying fall onto railway tracks at Manchester Piccadilly station has won an £18,000 compensation payout from Network Rail after a three-year legal battle. Abdul Eneser, a master's law student at the University of Strathclyde, slipped from the platform edge because of the absence of tactile paving, leaving him stranded moments before a train approached.
A Terrifying Ordeal on the Tracks
Eneser described lying helplessly on the tracks as he heard the ominous rumble of an approaching freight train. "When I was down on that track I just thought, this is it," he recalled. "The person dispatching from the other side of the platform told me that there was a train that was going to come past, and it wasn't going to stop. It's a really weird feeling to describe."
Miraculously, with just sixty seconds to spare before the train arrived, Eneser managed to haul himself back onto platform 14 at Manchester's busiest railway station. The escape left him with significant injuries to his knees, hands, and neck, but the psychological impact has proven even more lasting.
Systemic Accessibility Failures
The incident occurred after passenger assistance staff failed to meet Eneser following a train delay. He was later informed that all station staff had gone home, leaving him to navigate the unfamiliar environment alone. His legal team from Leigh Day successfully argued that Network Rail had breached duties under both the 2010 Equality Act and the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 by failing to implement reasonable adjustments for disabled passengers.
Although Network Rail has since installed tactile paving across its network following the 2020 death of another blind passenger, Cleveland Gervais, Eneser believes fundamental problems persist in how rail operators approach accessibility.
Beyond Financial Compensation
"The money is a plus, but for me the main reason I did it was to prevent it happening again, both to myself and to other visually impaired travellers," Eneser stated. "This case is about much more than compensation. Poor accessibility in rail travel is not just a one-off issue. This is something that prevents myself and others with visual impairments from travelling with confidence."
He criticised what he described as a reactive culture within the rail industry. "The rail industry have a culture of let's react to things rather than minimise risk and look ahead – that was one of my main reasons why I took on this case," he explained.
Calls for Proactive Improvements
Eneser has proposed specific measures to improve safety and accessibility for visually impaired travellers:
- A live-chat feature on the passenger assist app to facilitate easier communication with staff
- Clearly marked passenger assist help buttons at every station entrance
- More proactive consultation with people who have lived experience of visual impairment
The psychological aftermath continues to affect his daily life. "Every time I go to that station, or anytime I'm near any platform, that comes up. It's really anxiety-inducing to travel now, and I don't think I'll ever go over that," he admitted.
Eneser emphasised that accessibility failures create constant uncertainty for disabled travellers. "I'm not always sure that I'll be met with the right level of support to complete my journeys. At the best of times, it makes travel stressful, and in the worst-case scenario it can be really dangerous." His case highlights ongoing challenges in making Britain's rail network truly accessible to all passengers, despite legal obligations and recent improvements.
