I doubt any disability group or other party taking action would ask for a remedy that includes taking trains off the rails in the short term. Much more likely would be a request for a series of measures to assist the Government in coming back into compliance with the law, and so...
- better information on which trains are and are not currently compliant to help PRM plan their journey. Good luck with that one Northern and TPE. You don't even know where your staff or trains are, and nor do we.
- censure by the courts of the Government for lack of oversight of something within its control as contractual masters of all franchises. Very important in our system for the relevant civil servants to receive a career limiting slap on the wrist - unless they can point to Ministerial interference/inaction. Grayling at the helm should probably count as a blanket defence for all relevant civil servants. I once had to step over that guys legs as he had a kip on a Virgin West Coast service, across the bloody aisle, on a day Southern was on strike.
- a demand for a much more rigorous plan from the Government to achieve compliance more quickly including regular reports to the court to prove an acceleration of progress.
- if there are to be outlying situations...perhaps EMR being the obvious one, a clearer plan to minimise non-compliance, so for instance the Government making firm committments to the court to bring in ECML HST's or to increase staff numbers to help PRM passengers.
For me, having read the often interesting debate on this thread you can't help but feel the Government just needs pulling up on this one. No one wants to see big fines, trains off the rails in the short term etc. In fact I would argue the opposite, keep the pacers on but coupled to PRM compliant units until the Northern mess is much more stable. I agree with those who say less carriages is worse for PRM. However, the Government and industry just can not be allowed to get away with the sloppy approach they have demonstrated on this one. Once you open the door to standards being allowed to slip on compliance with no consequences, you risk a whole culture of, 'oh don't worry, it will be fine, they will just issue a piece of paper last minute you watch and see.'