Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to networkrail.co.uk

This website is run by Network Rail. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Some active elements cannot be navigated to via the keyboard.
  • Status messages, some users may be unaware that content on pages has updated.
  • Some images have unsuitable alternate text.
  • Table Pagination step is not announced for screen reader users.
  • Interactive maps on the website may not work with screen reader software or be navigable using a keyboard.
  • There is not always sufficient contrast between text and background colours.
  • Headings have been used for formatting.
  • Not all content is visible when resizing.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email: websupport@networkrail.co.uk with details of the issue.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Network Rail is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to ‘the non-compliances’ listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Unsuitable alternate text this is an issue on multiple pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A). We plan to fix this by December 2024.
  2. Link text uses strings of words which do not clearly describe the link action, this is an issue on some pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 2.4.4 Link Purpose (in context) (Level A). We plan to fix this by December 2024.
  3. Interactive maps on the website may not work with screen reader software or be navigable using a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A). We plan to fix these issues where possible or provide an alternative format of the information by December 2024.
  4. The colour contrast of text may be difficult for some users to read. This is an issue on some pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA). We plan to fix this by December 2024.
  5. PDF’s do not have a specified language. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 3.1.1 Language of Page. We aim that any new PDFs or documents that we publish will meet accessibility standards, and to update our existing ones where applicable, to make them more accessible.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs do not meet accessibility standards. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

If you come across a PDF that is not accessible, please contact us so we can provide you with an alternative version.

Videos

Some of our older videos do not meet accessibility standards because they do not have audio descriptions. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix videos published before 23 September 2020.

What we’ve done to make this website accessible

This site has been built using code compliant with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards for HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

The site displays correctly in current browsers and using standards compliant HTML/CSS code means any future browsers will also display it correctly. Additional technologies including JavaScript have been utilised, however, this website is not reliant on these technologies as they are only used to enhance functionality. Every effort has been made to make these technologies as accessible as possible.

Mobile considerations

The site has been built responsively, so that it adapts on smaller devices, allowing the user to view and navigate the content with ease. The responsive site has been developed with reference to the work of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), taking into consideration the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2) and Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP 1.0).

iOS and Android devices have several built-in assistive features that users can take advantage of. For more information please see the following links:

Downloadable files

We have made files available to download in a variety of formats. The most common are: Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx), and Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx).

If you are unable to open these types of documents, please download and install the latest versions of the free viewer software and online apps:

How to adapt the website to meet your needs

AbilityNet’s My Computer My Way site offers a guide to making your PC accessible, including help with seeing the screen, using your keyboard and mouse, and with language and reading.

Making changes to your operating system:

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We’re working through the findings in The DAC audit and are prioritising these fixes by focusing on issues that are across all or multiple pages or that are on key passenger pages. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 1 August 2019. It was last reviewed on 9 May 2024. This website was last tested on 16 March 2022 by the The Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC). 

The Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) carried out a WCAG 2.1 AA level technical compliance audit, that included extensive testing by users with a wide range of disabilities. 

We selected the following key sample pages for The DAC to test based on website traffic and core website functionality: