We’re creating a railway that works for all the people and places it will serve.
We want everyone who chooses to travel on the railway to have a worry-free and reliable experience. We are working towards this vision by embedding a human-centred design approach into our developing plans and designs which puts the people we are designing for at the heart of the process and starts long before the railway is up and running. Right now, we’re working hard to identify gaps between industry standards and best practice, creating a culture that recognises and values inclusivity and accessibility for everyone. This includes our customers, colleagues, supply chain, and the communities we serve.
The Equality Impact Assessment process as outlined in the Our approach to equality fact sheet also plays an important role in informing our design development. By considering different people’s needs we can deliver infrastructure and services that are appropriate and inclusive for everyone. You can read more about the Equality Impact Assessment process in the Our approach to equality fact sheet.
The Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty
To help us design, deliver, and operate an inclusive railway, we are embedding a range of equality, diversity and inclusion best practice measures into our assessments and decision making.
The Equality Act 2010 is the legal foundation for tackling disadvantage and improving equality of opportunity for people with the following protected characteristics:
Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage and civil partnership, Pregnancy and maternity, Race, Religion and belief, Sex and Sexual orientation
The Public Sector Equality Duty is set out in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, and requires public authorities and bodies delivering public services and functions (including us at East West Railway Company) to give due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act.
- Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
- Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA)
We will prepare and submit an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) as part of our application for a Development Consent Order (DCO). An EqIA is a tool that will help us to understand and assess the likely effects of our proposals on people with the protected characteristics set out above.
The EqIA process plays an important role in informing our design development. By considering different people’s needs we can deliver services that are appropriate and inclusive for everyone. This supports good decision making and helps us to comply with our Public Sector Equality Duty obligations. Our Accessibility and Inclusion factsheet also explains how we plan to embed a human-centred design approach into our developing plans and designs.
As part of the EqIA process, we will identify potential equality effects by assessing how the Project may result in impacts on community resources, specific locations, or sections of the population. We will also identify potential positive and negative, temporary and permanent, direct and indirect effects on people with protected characteristics, to understand whether any disadvantage as a result of our proposals is expected because of that person or group’s protected characteristic.
The EqIA will be informed by several sources of information including relevant chapters of our Environmental Statement, feedback received during non-statutory consultation, existing baseline data, and input from stakeholders. Through the EqIA process we will develop measures to reduce any potential negative effects and maximise any positive effects of our proposals. Mitigation measures identified within the Environmental Statement relevant to equalities will also be considered as part of the EqIA process. In addition, we will develop a plan for ongoing monitoring of equality impacts.
The EqIA will be submitted alongside the outcomes of the Environmental Impact Assessment process detailed in the Environmental Statement as part of our DCO application.
Asset-specific EqIA
While design choices for specific assets are still under development, our commitment to equality remains important. We will continue to gather evidence demonstrating how equality considerations are being integrated into the decision-making process. This evidence will be assessed using established protocols and where necessary this could include an EqIA tailored to a specific asset and its current design stage.
Engaging with stakeholders and communities
To help us understand a range of views on equality issues, we are talking to community groups, national and local charities and organisations that represent people and groups with protected characteristics.
This engagement also provides opportunities for stakeholders, including equality groups and the wider community, to inform and influence our design and development of both our proposals and the EqIA.
East West Rail Accessibility Advisory Panel
We have a duty to understand the impacts of our decision-making on people from protected groups, in particular disabled people. To support this, we established an Accessibility Advisory Panel (AAP) in April 2023. The panel consists of 12 local residents from across the East West Rail Oxford- Cambridge route, all with lived experiences of disability and accessibility challenges. Majority of the members are actively involved in campaigns and groups focused on accessibility in their communities.
The AAP meets every six weeks, either in person or virtually, to discuss EWR proposals and share their travel experiences. This regular engagement helps us identify barriers to travel, find opportunities for more inclusive access, and understand the broader impacts on communities along our route. From stations and platforms to level crossings and beyond, the AAP provides valuable feedback on accessibility requirements from the early stages of design.
The AAP will continue to support EWR Co through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process and beyond, helping to improve the overall customer experience, remove barriers, and promote independent movement for all.
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Discover more
To discover more about accessibility, inclusion and the Government’s approach to an inclusive transport system, please find further reading available here.