Vision North Somerset teamed up with Severnside Community Rail Partnership to find out about help available for people with sight loss when using the trains. A 10-strong group of our service users gave the efforts a resounding thumbs up.
Vision NS staff and our service users spent the day with Faye from Severnside Community Rail on board a GWR train trip to Yatton, to experience the accessibility and assistance on offer, opening up rail travel for people with sight loss. Train and station staff made everyone feel welcome and took time to go through all the help and assistance they could ask for to ensure their journey would be as easy and stress free as possible.
We found out about services available at every stage of the journey:
- ticket office staff have been trained to understand the needs of users (a hearing loop is available too)
- platform staff can help users onto the train (and provide a ramp if needed)
- train staff are available to help people on and off train at unmanned stations
- the disabled carriage is located in first class, as a rule, so you can travel in style
- There are help points on each station where you can contact a real person
If you are thinking about travelling on train and need assistance, you will need to book this in advance by calling the GWR Passenger Assist team on 0800 197 1329.