Sight Loss Councils and GTR build on successful rail accessibility partnership
Sight Loss Councils (SLCs) and GTR, the company behind Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern services are continuing their work to improve rail accessibility for blind and partially sighted (BPS) people across London, the South East and East of England.
Building on the success of the 2024–25 Your Station, Your Community project, London, Sussex, and Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SLCs will continue their partnership with GTR over the next two years. Together, they will gather feedback from passengers, assess the impact of accessibility improvements already delivered and identify opportunities for future enhancements.
The project will also support the continued promotion and development of accessible travel resources created through the partnership, including station audio guides and onboard train descriptions.
Building on the success of Your Station, Your Community
Between June 2024 and June 2025, SLCs worked alongside GTR through the ‘Your Station, Your Community’ project to improve accessibility and better understand the experiences of BPS passengers across the network.
The project included accessibility assessments, community engagement, and the development of accessible travel resources designed by and with BPS people.
One of the project’s key achievements was the creation of audio guides for six GTR stations. Created with the lived experience of SLC members, the guides help passengers familiarise themselves with station layouts, key facilities and important navigation points before they travel.
The success of the partnership was recognised at the National Rail Awards 2024, where Sight Loss Councils and GTR were highly commended for their joint work to improve accessibility for blind and partially sighted passengers
Access the station audio guides
Audio guides are currently available for:
Alongside the station guides, SLCs have also developed a range of onboard train guides, helping passengers understand the layout of different train models before they travel and supporting more confident and independent journeys.
The guides can be found on the Assisted Travel sections of the Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern websites.
Josh, Sussex SLC member, navigates across a station concourse
What’s happening next?
Building on the success of the Your Station, Your Community project, Sussex, London, and Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SLC will continue to work with GTR at these six stations.
The new project will focus on evaluating the impact of accessibility improvements delivered through the previous project. We will also identify opportunities for further improvements, including:
- follow-up accessibility assessments at all six stations
- evaluation of accessibility improvements introduced through the Your Station, Your Community project
- gathering feedback on the station audio guides and onboard train descriptions
- completion of the final onboard train guides
- community engagement activities designed to help blind and partially sighted people build confidence when travelling by rail
Coffee, Chat and Navigation events at each station will give passengers the chance to explore station and onboard guides, share feedback with station teams and learn more about travelling independently.
Details of these events will be announced in the coming weeks on our events page.
Sussex SLC member, Paul, and SLC Coordinator, Lauren Eade, stand together at a Help Point on a platform
Working together to improve accessibility
Dave Smith, Engagement Manager for South East England, said:
“It is great to be continuing our work with GTR to promote the station guides and onboard train descriptions. We are keen to speak to as many blind and partially sighted people as possible to understand how they feel about the resources we have created, what difference they have made and whether there is anything else that could improve the accessibility of rail travel in the future.”
Amy Askew, Engagement Manager for East England, added:
“We look forward to working again with Stevenage and Luton Airport Parkway stations to assess accessibility for blind and partially sighted people. We will be hosting events at both stations and hope to welcome as many blind and partially sighted people as possible to try our audio station guides, which we are very excited about.
“The feedback we receive will help us understand what is working well and identify opportunities to improve accessibility in the future.”
Paul Day, a member of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SLC, said:
“It’s been great to work with GTR to produce our audio guides, host coffee and chat events and meet station staff at Stevenage and Luton Airport Parkway.
“Staff really valued hearing the lived experience of blind and partially sighted people and understanding the role these guides can play in complementing the passenger assistance they provide every day.”
Thameslink’s Accessibility Engagement Manager Antony Merlyn, who developed the initial guide for the Thameslink trains with Dave’s input, 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 numerous Try a Train events we have hosted over the last 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, TPT and SLCs over the coming months.”
Looking ahead
By continuing to place lived experience at the heart of accessibility improvements, Sight Loss Councils and GTR are helping create a rail network that is easier to navigate, more welcoming and more accessible for blind and partially sighted passengers.
Visit our Make Trains Accessible page to see how we’re improving rail accessibility
Join us
Passionate about making a difference? Want to influence positive change? Our Sight Loss Councils, led by blind and partially sighted volunteers, are recruiting new members. Join us today!
We use our lived experience to create positive change for others. Together, we tackle local issues and work with businesses and service providers to improve the accessibility of their services.
Join us to help ensure blind and partially sighted people in your area can live the lives they want to lead.
Publication date: 23 July 2026