Northern takes action to improve passenger assistance for disabled travellers

Credit: Office of Rail and Road

Northern has announced that it has committed to addressing concerns raised by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) about the reliability of its assistance for disabled passengers. After receiving criticism from the rail regulator in September 2024, Northern has submitted a detailed action plan outlining measures to improve accessibility and support for passengers requiring assistance.

Northern’s action plan targets several critical areas to enhance service reliability over the next year:

• Standardising Assistance Policies: Ensuring uniformity in passenger assistance practices across its network
• Staff Training and Responsiveness: Equipping staff with the skills to handle disruptions and improve service delivery
• Optimising Technology: Leveraging tools to enhance the consistency of passenger assistance
• Improving Information Access: Simplifying how customers and staff access necessary information.

In the next three months, Northern will:

• Revise Staffing Models: Conduct a review of assistance staff at large stations like Leeds
• Enhance Staff Training: Focus on communication between boarding and alighting stations
• Establish Remote Support Teams: Use tools like WhatsApp to provide remote assistance
• Pilot New Alert Systems: Allow passengers departing from unstaffed stations to signal their need for assistance without pre-booking.

The action plan has been developed through a series of discussions involving ORR, the Rail North Partnership, the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for the North and the Northern User Accessibility Group. These engagements facilitated a constructive framework for Northern’s commitments.

Northern will submit regular progress updates to ORR, starting in December 2024. A full review will take place in January 2025, with a follow-up assessment in April.

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform, said: “After recent constructive discussions with Northern, we welcome its plan which recognises where it can improve upon its assistance reliability. The onus is now on the operator to fulfil what it has set out to achieve. We will monitor its progress over the coming months.”

ORR has stated that Northern’s response marks a critical step in ensuring accessible and reliable rail services for all passengers, with significant changes anticipated in the coming months.