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Network Rail is supporting a trial aimed at revolutionising passenger assistance in a first for Britain’s transport sector.
The innovation comes amid far-reaching plans by Network Rail to make railway stations more accessible and inclusive.
The rail industry is trialling the Passenger Assist app through four train operating companies – West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Greater Anglia, and South Western Railway.
The app will help make travel for people with a disability easier, less stressful and less likely to go wrong by enabling them to book help at railway stations. It includes accessible features, such as the ability to change colour themes, fonts and text sizes.
Technology company Transreport developed the Passenger Assist app in collaboration with disability charities including Disability Rights UK, Blind Veterans UK and Anxiety UK.
Innovation
Currently, customers can book in various ways including by phone or online – a time-consuming process where they provide contact details and specify the assistance they need every time.
Staff at stations then receive a printed list of booked assistance each morning, which means when plans change. For example, if trains are delayed or the customer misses their booked train, there is no way to update the list and staff can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The new system will resolve these issues.
Read more at: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/easier-assistance-app-to-transform-journeys-for-disabled-passengers/
