Making rail travel easier

The links below will take you to useful information about travelling by rail:

• Assistance - the service train companies offer you
   
• Planning your journey - how to plan the journey most suited to your needs
   
• Who do I contact to arrange assistance? - how to get in touch with your local train company
   
• Help us help you - the things you can do to help us give you the best possible journey
   
• Travelling with a wheelchair - guidance on size and weight restrictions
   
• Powered scooters - an explanation of some of the issues around bringing powered scooters into the rail environment
   
• Concessionary fares for Blind or visually-impaired customers who do not have a Disabled Persons Railcard travelling with a companion
   
• Concessionary fares for people who stay in their own wheelchair for a rail journey who do not have a Disabled Persons Railcard
   
• Season tickets for blind or visually-impaired people

Assistance

We can provide you with help using our services. If you need assistance we recommend that you book it at least 24 hours in advance of travel.

Booking in advance enables train companies to check the accessibility of the stations you will be using, help you plan the journey best suited to your needs, and if necessary, arrange alternative transport to the nearest accessible station.

The 24-hour notice period also gives us time, where possible, to relocate staff to assist you. This is important if you are going to travel at a time when a station is usually unstaffed.

Contact details for booking assistance can be found in the table below.

Planning your journey

For more information on the facilities at stations contact National Rail Enquiries on:

Phone: 08457 48 49 50*
Textphone: 0845 60 50 600
Website: www.nationalrail.co.uk

*Calls to this number are charged at the local rate and maybe recorded.

Who do I contact to arrange assistance?

Company	Telephone	Deaf or Hard of Hearing contact
Arriva Trains Wales www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk	08453 003 005	0870 410 0355 (Textphone)
c2c www.c2c-online.co.uk	01702 357 640	08456 067 245 (Textphone)
Chiltern Railways www.chilternrailways.co.uk	08456 005 165	08457 078 051(Textphone)
CrossCountry www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk	0844 811 0125	0844 811 0126 (Textphone)
East Midlands Trains www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk	08457 125 678	08457 078 051(Textphone)
First Capital Connect www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk	0800 058 2844	0800 975 1052 (Textphone)
First Great Western www.firstgreatwestern.com	08001 971 329	08002 949 209 (Textphone)
First ScotRail www.firstscotrail.com	0800 912 2901	18001 0800 912 2 901 (Typetalk)
First Transpennine Express www.tpexpress.co.uk	0800 107 2149	0800 107 2061(Textphone)
Gatwick Express www.gatwickexpress.co.uk	0800 138 0225
Hull Trains www.hulltrains.co.uk	08450 710 222	08456 786 967 (Textphone)
Island Line www.island-line.com	0800 528 2100	0800 692 0792 (Textphone)
London Midland www.londonmidland.com	08706 09 60 60	08457 07 80 51 (Textphone)
London Overground www.tfl.gov.uk	08456 014 867	08457 125 988 (Textphone)
Merseyrail www.merseyrail.org	0870 055 2681	0151 702 2071 (Textphone)
National Express East Anglia www.nationalexpress.com	08000 282 878	0845 606 7245 (Textphone)
East Coast www.youreastcoast.co.uk	08457 225 444	08457 202 067 (Textphone)
Northern Rail www.northernrail.org	08456 008 008	08456 045 608 (Textphone)
Southeastern www.southeasternrailway.co.uk	08007 834 524	08007 834 548 (Textphone)
South West Trains www.southwesttrains.co.uk	0800 528 2100	0800 692 0792 (Textphone)
Southern www.southernrailway.com	0800 138 1016	0800 138 1018 (Textphone)
Virgin Trains www.virgintrains.co.uk	08457 443 366	08457 443 367 (Textphone)
Wrexham & Shropshire www.wrexhamandshropshire.co.uk	01709 849 537	08457 078 051(Textphone)

 

Help us help you

Do make your needs known to us. Rail staff are trained to give you help. So, if you are likely to require help getting on and off trains or receiving information, please tell our staff. This will help them to help you if disruption affects your journey.

Please be aware there are limits to the amount of assistance we can provide. We cannot escort customers throughout their whole journey, neither can we provide personal care (for example, help with eating and drinking, taking medication or using the toilet) or carry heavy luggage.

Travelling with a wheelchair

Most trains can accomodate wheelchairs that are within the dimensions prescribed in government regulations covering public transport (700mm wide, 1200mm long). There are a small number of older trains that can only currently carry wheelchairs that have a maximum width of 670mm.

The maximum combined weight of a person and their wheelchair that can be conveyed is limited by: the capabilities of the individual member of staff assisting the passenger and the stated maximum safe working load of the ramp (between 230kg and 300kg).

There are a limited number of spaces available to wheelchair users on each train, we therefore recommend that you book your space in advance.

For more information on using a wheelchair on public transport  see the guide "Wheels Within Wheels" produced by Ricability, the independent consumer research charity. To order a paper copy, send a large self-addressed envelope with a 66p stamp to: Ricability 30 Angel Gate, City Road, London EC1V 2PT. 

 

Powered scooters

Because scooters come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, many have problems on trains, including: tipping backwards on ramps; being heavier than the ramp’s safeworking load; or being the wrong shape to manoeuvre safely inside a carriage.

These problems mean that some companies have trains that cannot carry scooters. So if you are a scooter-user who wants to travel by rail, you should contact the train company to check they can safely accommodate your scooter. Details of each train operator's scooter policy can be found by clicking here.

 

Concessionary fares for visually-impaired people or wheelchair users who do not have a Disabled Persons Railcard

Blind or visually-impaired customers who do not have a Disabled Persons Railcard travelling with a companion

If you are registered as blind or visually impaired and you are travelling with another person, the above concessionary fares apply for both you and your companion. You cannot get a discount if you are travelling on your own. You must show a document confirming your disability when you buy your ticket and when travelling. It must be from a recognised institution, for example, Social Services, your Local Authority, The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) or St Dunstan's.

People who stay in their own wheelchair for a rail journey who do not have a Disabled Persons Railcard

If you need to stay in your own wheelchair during a journey and you do not have a Railcard, you are eligible for the above concessionary fares.

The above discounts apply if you are travelling alone. They are also available to one adult travelling with you.

Season tickets for blind or visually-impaired people

If you are blind or visually-impaired you can buy one adult season ticket that enables a companion to travel with you at no extra cost (so two people travel for the price of one). It doesn’t have to be the same person travelling with you on every journey. Please take evidence of your visual impairment (as described in ‘consessionary fares’ above) with you to prove your eligibility. These tickets can be purchased from staffed stations.