UK: Network Rail has opened a £175 000 assisted travel lounge at Birmingham New Street station for use by passengers who need help getting between trains and the station concourse.
Designed with the guidance of Birmingham New Street’s accessibility forum, the lounge has bright multicoloured signs to aid the visually impaired, 24 seats at different heights and a water bowl for service dogs.
‘Network Rail has ticked so many of the boxes and has listened to what people like me need’, said Mark Sanders, who is registered blind and travels with a guide dog.
Nearly 59 000 people used the assisted service at Birmingham New Street last year.
‘Travelling through a busy railway station can be daunting for those with additional needs but the new assisted travel lounge provides a friendly space for people to wait and get the help they need from a dedicated team’, said Karen Hornby, Head of Performance & Customer Relationship. ‘It will transform the way passengers access rail travel at Birmingham New Street.’
