Please only travel if your journey is absolutely essential under the new government guidance.
If you are showing any Coronavirus symptoms, however mild, you should self-isolate along with any other members of your household. The latest Public Health England advice is available here.
If you do need to travel, please contact us on 0800 138 5560 (Text Relay 18001 0800 138 5560), as services are subject to change.
What assistance is available?
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
To book assistance
To book assistance please see call our assisted travel team on 0800 138 5560 or complete our online booking form.
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.
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.
Accesibility on older Northern trains in 2020
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.
Blue Assist
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.
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. Find out more about the scheme from Blue Assist.