Press release —
Rail audio guides help blind and partially sighted people travel independently
New railway station and train audio guides, designed to dramatically improve accessibility for blind and partially sighted rail travellers, have been published on the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern websites.
Written by Sight Loss Council volunteers and accessibility managers at parent company Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR), the guides help disabled passengers familiarise themselves with station and train layouts, key facilities and important navigation points before they travel.
Dave Smith, Sight Loss Council Engagement Manager for South East England at national sight loss charity Thomas Pocklington Trust, said: “As blind and partially sighted people, we rely heavily on public transport to access work, and medical and social appointments. These guides we’ve developed with GTR will make rail travel so much easier.”
The audio guides have been written for six key stations:
Guides have also been written for Thameslink’s trains and most of those operated by Southern, as well as for carriages running in and out of Moorgate on Great Northern.
They can be found on the ‘Support whilst you’re travelling’ pages of the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern websites and complement other resources including the Easy Ticket and Easy Train Travel guides, aimed at neurodiverse customers, as well as a Travel Support Card for people who need assistance but find it hard to ask for help.
Thameslink’s Accessibility Engagement Manager Antony Merlyn said: “Dave has a unique insight into the challenges for blind and partially sighted people travelling by train and it was great to work with him to create new guides describing our principle Southern and Great Northern trains as well as these audio descriptions covering six of our key stations.
“We hope these guides, alongside the free use of the Aira navigation app and numerous Try a Train events we have hosted over the past year, provide blind and partially sighted people with added confidence to travel with us. I’m really looking forward to continuing our partnership with Dave and the Sight Loss Councils over the coming months.”
To support the launch, Sight Loss Councils and GTR will host ‘Coffee, Chat and Navigation’ events at the six stations featured in the guides, helping blind and partially sighted passengers build confidence travelling by rail and share feedback on the new resources. For more information and booking, visit: www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk/events
ENDS
Notes to editors
The audio guides were created as part of a project funded by GTR’s Your Station, Your Community fund. As part of this, London, Sussex, and Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Sight Loss Councils has been engaging with communities and gathering feedback from passengers, to assess the impact of accessibility improvements already delivered and identify opportunities for future enhancements.
GTR funds the free use of the AIRA app to blind and partially sighted people at all its managed railway stations New app revolutionises accessibility for blind and partially sighted rail passengers on Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink | GTR
About Sight Loss Councils
Sight Loss Councils (SLCs), funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust, are regional groups led by blind and partially sighted volunteers. We use our lived experience to shape inclusive services, influence decisions, and make accessibility a priority in local communities.
There are currently around 26 SLCs across the UK. Each SLC is made up of blind and partially sighted members who meet regularly to discuss accessibility issues and plan projects in their regions under priority themes. These themes are centred around what blind and partially sighted people have told us matter to them the most. This includes accessible transport, streets, health services, fitness, arts and culture, and retail.
Our SLCs are continuing to grow across the country.
To find out more visit: www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk
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For more information, contact the press office on 0203 750 2031.
GTR
GTR operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
- Thameslink – cross-London services between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks
- Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
- Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
- Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria
www.southernrailway.com, www.thameslinkrailway.com, www.gatwickexpress.com, www.greatnorthernrail.com
About DFTO
DFTO works with train operators and Network Rail to lay the foundations for Great British Railways (GBR) - working together to deliver a better railway for everyone in Britain. Ahead of the establishment of GBR in 2027, DFTO is responsible for bringing privately operated passenger services into public ownership, ensuring stability, accountability and continuity for customers and taxpayers. The group’s current train operating companies are: c2c, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, GTR, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and WM Trains. DFTO now runs 12,000 rail services every day and delivers over one billion customer journeys across its networks each year.
