Passenger assistance buggies replaced at London Euston

Credit: Network Rail

Passenger assistance buggies at London Euston station have been replaced after 18 years. On average 87,000 passengers who need help getting to and from their train rely on the vehicles at the West Coast main line’s southern terminus each year, that’s around 240 passengers every day. The first four buggies were introduced in 2004 with a further six added in 2010. It’s estimated the 10 vehicles have made 1,000,000 journeys between the main concourse and platforms over 18 years.

With each trip around a third of a mile it means they’ve ferried passengers and luggage over 330,000 miles between them. After nearly two decades of serious pulling power, Network Rail retired the old vehicles on 20 May 2022 for 12 new electric machines (see the video at the bottom). This £200,000 investment has boosted the fleet by 20 per cent and will reduce maintenance costs and breakdowns.

Credit: Network Rail – The new passenger assist buggies

 “These new buggies will continue to play a vital role in getting passengers to and from trains who need extra help,” Gareth Parry, Network Rail Station Manager at London Euston, said. “The old buggies have served us incredibly, but these new vehicles will be much more reliable, have a longer battery life and can continue to serve passengers for many more years to come.”

Passenger Assist allows people to request an assistance booking in advance so that train company staff will be on hand to help with things like navigating a station, boarding a train, or arranging a ramp on and off a train. Since 1 April 2022, people can book assistance just two hours before their journey is due to start, at any time of the day and any day of the week. The reduction in booking times comes after rail companies introduced a new app, Passenger Assistance by Transreport, which speeds up the process to request assistance.

Below is a video featuring the new electric machines that passengers can use.