Northern Rail continues to make network more inclusive with mobility scooter scheme
Railway operator Northern is continuing with efforts to transform its railway network by making it more accessible for people with reduced mobility.
It says that whilst travel is restricted currently due to COVID-19, it is still undertaking work to make its railway network more accessible for when customers return.
Mobility scooter users can travel to and from more than 100 stations across the Northern network due to a new accessibility scheme launched last year. The mobility scooter permit scheme was rolled out across more than 21 routes and at a total of 140 stations along the network last year and dozens of applications have been submitted so far, Northern confirms.
Maxine Myers, Accessibility Improvement Manager at Northern, said: “More than 21 routes across our network are now scooter friendly – and more will be rolled out in the near future as we continue to make our trains and stations as accessible as possible for our passengers.
“The scheme has already been very popular and although we strongly advise people to continue to follow the Government’s advice only travel if essential for work, or for other legally permitted reasons we want our customers to know that our network can accommodate scooter users to help them get where they need to be.
“Anyone who wants to bring their scooters on our trains should apply for a permit first so we can check it meets the standards that make it safe for us to take it on-board.”
Passengers can apply for a permit and their scooter will be assessed to ensure they are safe to be carried on board.
Each user will be given a personalised sticker that will be easily identified and be placed on the pre-assessed vehicle. This will be accompanied by a card that can be carried by customers if they use scooters that don’t have a suitable place to display the sticker.
Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, commented: “We are committed to giving people with additional mobility needs the confidence to travel by rail, including during the CODIC-19 pandemic. We want to support our customers whenever they need it.
“The mobility scooter scheme is an example of this commitment and we’ll be looking to deliver improved accessibility across our network as we roll out similar improvements at other stations in the future.”
