Northern Railway

Northern participate in a system called Passenger Assist which older and disabled customers can use to arrange assistance. This is an industry-wide system used to book assistance at stations for passengers during their journey. 

Passenger Assist allows you to:

• request assistance getting on or off the train
• request assistance entering or leaving the station
• request a portable ramp for getting on or off the train
• book seat reservations, including the booking of dedicated wheelchair spaces
• make onward travel reservations on services operated by other train companies where reservations are available
• request assistance to and from connecting services
• purchase tickets

Call 08081561606

Northern participate in a system called Passenger Assist which older and disabled customers can use to arrange assistance. This is an industry-wide system used to book assistance at stations for passengers during their journey. 

Passenger Assist allows you to:

• request assistance getting on or off the train
• request assistance entering or leaving the station
• request a portable ramp for getting on or off the train
• book seat reservations, including the booking of dedicated wheelchair spaces
• make onward travel reservations on services operated by other train companies where reservations are available
• request assistance to and from connecting services
• purchase tickets

Request Assistance

You could save money on your train tickets by buying a railcard. If you are disabled, you may be eligible for 1/3 off rail fares (for you and a friend) with a Disabled Persons Railcard. If you are aged 60 or over may be eligible for 1/3 off rail fares with a Senior Railcard.

Many of our stations are staffed and all our trains have conductors. They are there to help so please don't hesitate to ask. We will ensure they are sufficiently resourced to meet the booked travel assistance requirements and help you on and off the train, using the on train ramp where it is required. We recommend that you give us 24 hours notice for us to arrange assistance. However, we understand that this is not always possible. We will always provide assistance where reasonably practicable.  We have updated our Step Free Access Map to aid independent travel and journey planning.

We are working with rail industry colleagues and our customers to improve accessibility to our stations and trains. Our commitment is outlined in our leaflet Making Rail Accessible: helping older and disabled passengers.

As we introduce brand new trains and refurbish over 400 carriages to provide the best possible customer experience, we are also in the process of retiring more than 100 older trains, commonly known as ’Pacers’. To find out more about accessibility on older Northern rail trains in 2020 please click the button below.  Read more

We have ensured that several priority seats have been retained, as with all seating, numbers are reduced but the seats are easily identified.  Click here for more information.

With the exception of seven stations within a trial area, we are currently unable to accept mobility scooters on any of our services unless they can be folded down and carried on-board. Our 'safety first' approach means the gradient of wheelchair ramps between platform and train at some locations presents a risk for customers and colleagues. Where it is safe to do so, and combined with the introduction of new and refurbished trains and improved stations, we aim to extend our trial Northern Mobility Scooter Permit scheme to other areas over the coming months. For more information please see our Mobility Scooter Policy

We are proud to recognise the Sunflower Lanyard. The Lanyard allows the wearer to discreetly indicate that they may have a non-visible disability that may mean they need a little extra support when travelling. Around one in ten of the UK population have a non-visible condition and surveys suggest that people with disabilities avoid using rail travel due to difficulties they have faced on their previous experiences. 1.3 million customers booked assistance for rail travel in 2019; this figure rises on average by 2% each year, and we want every customer to have a positive experience. If you require more information on the scheme, please contact our Customer Experience Centre on 0800 200 6060 and they will be happy to help.

Blue Assist is a simple way of asking for assistance, for people who have difficulty communicating. At Northern we are delighted to have joined BlueAssist in trying to make travel easier for those who need it. We have started training all of our frontline people so they are aware of BlueAssist and know how to respond to your needs. BlueAssist cards will soon be available at all staffed stations.

 

All you have to do is write out a card with your question or request and present it to a member of our staff, who will be happy to help. Alternatively download the BlueAssist app and find out more about the scheme from Blue Assist.