Portsmouth train travel: Great Western Railway to ban E-scooters from trains, when and why?

Great Western Railway (GWR) will not allow customers to bring the electric vehicles onto their services from May 21. The company said the decision was made following ‘a number of incidents’ on the rail and tub networks.

GWR reports that vehicles with lithium-ion batteries ‘associated with severe overheating, increasing the risk of a fire’. The ban also covers GWR staff.

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Paul Gentleman, head of external communications at GWR, told the BBC that he would like to see tougher safety regulations for e-scooters. He said: ‘These things at some point will need some sort of regulations in terms of their safety, not only in terms of using them going around, but also the actual technology that is built within them.’

Customers who bring e-scooters onto GWR trains or stations will be turned away. Any unattended vehicle will be classed as abandoned and will be safely disposed of, according to the train operator.

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E-scooters were previously allowed on these services as long as they were folded up and placed on the floor level of the bulk luggage compartment. GWR operates trains from Portsmouth Harbour railway station to Cardiff Central.

There is currently no specific transport laws for e-scooters, which are classed as ‘powered transporters’. This means they are regulated in the same way as motor vehicles.

Other rail operators such as South Eastern have also banned the machines from its trains due to growing fears about their safety and lack of regulation.