Network Rail Communications Award for work with Sight Loss Councils
Network Rail’s (NR) Wales and Western project communications team has won a national Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) award in the Putting Passengers First category for its work with Bristol Sight Loss Council.
The award celebrates the team’s work with Bristol Sight Loss Council to launch a first-of-its-kind audio guide to assist blind and partially sighted people to navigate around Bristol Temple Meads railway station. This is for whilst the station undergoes a key period of transformation.
Network Rail staff & Bristol Sight Loss Council members, with Thomas Pocklington Trust Staff, inside Bristol Temple Meads railway station.
Sight Loss Council members used their lived experience of sight loss to help develop and create the guide in partnership with Network Rail.
The guide comprises 12 audio files accessible from any personal device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Each file guides the listener safely through a section of the station, making it far easier to navigate for blind and partially sighted people.
Access the guide on the Network Rail website
The communications campaign to launch the guide in December 2022 featured on BBC Breakfast News, national TV and radio, local Bristol media, national and international trade press and across social media. This was accompanied by a launch event and video featuring Sight Loss Council members.
Carla Watts, Senior Communications Manager at Network Rail, said:
“This is a fantastic achievement and brilliant recognition for everyone involved. It also helps to further raise awareness of the audio guide to benefit blind and partially sighted people who want to use the guide to navigate the station. We look forward to continuing to work with Sight Loss Councils to develop similar guides in other stations.”
Image shows the Communications ACE Award
Next steps
Network Rail is continuing to work closely with Sight Loss Councils and users of the audio guide to further improve this technology and ultimately roll out these kinds of guides more widely in other stations across the country.
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Publication date: 23 March 2023