Blind Manchester student who fell on train tracks awarded £18k after assistance didn’t arrive

A blind Manchester student has been awarded £18,000 after narrowly avoiding being hit by a freight train at Manchester Picadilly station.

Abdul Eneser, a 23-year-old masters law student, fell onto the tracks of platform 14 after train staff failed to arrive at the platform to help him through the station – despite him booking aid through Passenger Assist.

Abdul miraculously managed to drag himself off the tracks and to safety – just 60 seconds before a freight train sped past.

He sustained injuries to his knees, hands and neck.

There were no tactile pavings at the edge of that platform, so Abdul was unaware how close he was to the edge when he fell.

Abdul Eneser. Via SWNS

The incident took place on 21st May 2022, and Abdul received an £18,000 settlement from Network Rail in November 2025 after pursuing a legal case – however, the organisation does not admit liability for the incident.

Abdul had arrived in Manchester on a train from Glasgow, where Avanti staff had helped him onto the train.

He missed his connection due to delays and had waited 90 minutes for a Northern service.

He was informed that Manchester Piccadilly staff would be alerted of his arrival time and would be ready to meet him. However, when he arrived, the lack of staff meant that he was forced to attempt to find the stairs up to the platform 13 and 14 foyer himself.

Abdul, who studies at the University of Strathclyde, said his case was “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.

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“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.”

He called for live chats on the Passenger Assist app and clearly marked help buttons at every station entrance.

Manchester Piccadilly station. Via Unsplash

Abdul’s lawyers called the failures of railway staff a breach of duties under the Equality Act and occupiers’ lability laws.

This payout news comes months after Network Rail announced the installation of tactile paving across its network, following the tragic death of Cleveland Gervais, another blind man, in 2020.

A Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) report recently found that just 44 per cent of partially sighted or blind people are “reliably met by staff at their destination or connecting station.”

Kate Egerton, a lawyer who was involved in the case, said: “Whilst I am pleased that we were able to secure this settlement for Abdul, his case and continued experiences highlight wider accessibility issues across the rail network that need to be addressed.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are extremely sorry for the experience Abdul Eneser suffered at Manchester Piccadilly.

“We let him down and have offered him our full and unreserved apology.

“We recognise that there is much to do to make the railway more accessible for all and are working closely with industry partners to deliver these improvements across the rail network as quickly as we can.”

Featured image via SWNS