We want our railway to be accessible for everyone in Britain.
And we aim to make continuous improvements to the accessibility of our services and stations for everybody.
Here’s how we’re here to help you have a great journey …
Training for all station staff
Did you know that all our station staff have disability and equality training? It’s vital to us that our staff treat all passengers fairly and equally.
What does that mean? In fact, it means we train all our staff at Network Rail to think about how we behave towards other people.
For example, how do we treat disabled people in the same way we would treat anyone else? What do we say and do? It teaches our teams to understand the barriers disabled people face – barriers that are mostly put in their way every day in travel and work.
We value all our customers and do everything we can to ensure you enjoy the journey you’re entitled to.
Passenger Assist
Our mobility assistants and customer service assistants are on hand to help you. Always ask them for help if you need it.
You can usually find them on the station concourse and in our assisted travel lounges.
All our customer service staff are here to help but our mobility assistance teams are especially helpful if you have additional mobility needs. They provide the Passenger Assist service for older and disabled passengers.
What help can you get with Passenger Assist?
- Support when boarding, finding a seat, or getting off the train.
- Meeting you from your train and taking you to your next train or the exit.
- Arranging a ramp to help you on or off your train.
- Help relating to a non-visible disability.
- Advising on the accessibility of other stations across the railway for your onward journey.
- Carrying your bag(s) – up to three items of luggage as per the National Rail Conditions of Travel.
You don’t need to book help – you can just turn up and go when you arrive at one of the stations we directly manage. They’re the 20 biggest and busiest stations in Britain. Just make yourself known to a member of staff or use a help point when you arrive at the station.
But you can book the Passenger Assist service if you prefer by contacting the train company you start your journey. Or you can check out the National Rail Enquiries assisted travel pages.
Assisted travel lounges
We also offer dedicated assisted travel lounges at many of our stations. These lounges provide a welcoming waiting space for people with additional mobility and sensory needs. A dedicated team is often on hand for further assistance at each one.
They’re quiet, convenient and comfortable places for you to wait to help to make your journey quicker and easier.
They include facilities like wheelchair spaces, lower-height seating and a customer information screen so you can keep an eye on your train service.
Access for All
We’re working hard across Britain to provide Access for All throughout our railway.
The Access for All Programme aims to give you an obstacle free, accessible route to and between platforms.
It’s part of the Government’s Inclusive Transport Strategy. It means updating a lot of our Victorian railway that doesn’t meet today’s inclusive standards. Today we have we now have step-free, accessible routes at more than 200 stations and we’re working to give you greater accessibility at even more.
Read about some helpful additions to some of our disabled toilets here.
Inclusive design
Inclusive design is an important part of our Access for All strategy. It puts your needs at the heart of our design to benefit people with a broad range of access requirements, including disabled people, some older people and people travelling with children or heavy luggage.
Everyone can benefit from our full range of services and opportunities when we achieve inclusive design on our railway, like accessible stations and footbridges.
