Making Rail Accessible: Helping Customers with Barriers to Travel
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TfL Rail Making rail accessible: Helping customers with barriers to travel October 2017 MAYOR OF LONDON Contents Our commitment to you Our commitment to you page 3 TfL Rail is managed by Transport for London (TfL) and operated by MTR Crossrail. Commitments page 5 We operate rail services between Assistance for customers page 6 Liverpool Street and Shenfield. Abbey Wood Station from 22nd October 2017. We operate Alternative accessible transport page 9 station services between Paddington and Hayes and Harlington from 18th December 2017. Customer information page 10 At TfL Rail, we are committed to providing you Fares and tickets page 12 with a safe, reliable and friendly service. We want to make sure that you can use our services safely At the station page 17 and in comfort. On the train page 18 Making connections page 20 Accessible onward transport page 21 Disruption to facilities and services page 22 Contact us page 23 Station accessibility information page 24 Contact information back page 2 3 Our commitment to you (continued) Commitments We recognise that our customers may have TfL Rail is committed to helping customers with different requirements when they travel with us additional needs. We will do this by offering the and we are committed to making your journey as following: easy as possible. This applies not only to • Assistance at stations with boarding and wheelchair users, but also: alighting trains when using our services or • Customers with visual or auditory making connections at the stations we impairment or learning disabilities manage • Customers whose mobility is impaired • Alternative accessible transport when our through arthritis or other temporary or long stations or trains are inaccessible term conditions • Clear, consistent and up-to-date • Customers with disabled children customer information in pushchairs • A range of discounts to reduce the cost of • Disabled customers requiring assistance the journey with luggage • Carers accompanying customers with TfL Rail is committed to working with Transport additional needs for London (TfL), Network Rail and the Department for Transport to support the delivery We welcome your feedback on the services we and development of Access for All schemes. provide and any suggestions you may have for improvements. Our contact details are shown Aside from upgrades to stations and trains, we on the back page of this leaflet. regularly review our arrangements as part of our wider Equality and Inclusion agenda. This document, along with our policy document ‘Making Rail Accessible: guide to policies and practices’, is reviewed annually, by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). 4 5 Assistance for customers TfL Rail offers a service for customers to book assistance 24 hours in advance, All TfL rail managed stations, where we operate a and this may be necessary for journeys which timetabled train service, are staffed from first to involve travel on trains or stations managed by last train. We offer the following: another Train Operating Company (TOC). • Assistance with boarding and alighting, including luggage assistance (up to one item TfL Rail participates in and fully supports the of hand luggage and two items of luggage not Customer Assist system to ensure that our exceeding 300mm x 700mm x 900mm in size) customers can book assistance for their entire • Assistance with transferring between trains or journey, regardless of which Train Operating other modes of onward transport calling at Company runs the other train services or our stations stations involved. • Wheelchair assistance including wheelchair ramps at all accessible stations If you need assistance for your journey, please contact our TfL Contact Centre TfL Rail operates a turn up and go service for by phone on 0343 222 1234* or via tfl.gov.uk customers requiring assistance. All stations are giving where possible 24 hours’ notice, especially staffed during timetabled services. To request when your journey continues beyond TfL Rail. For assistance please speak to a member of staff customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, who will be happy to help. They will also make booking assistance is possible by Minicom sure that staff at your destination are ready to textphone on 0800 112 3456. help you alight. * Service and network charges may apply. If you are travelling from one of our stations See tfl.gov.uk/terms for details. with step-free access to the train and require assistance at your destination please let a For National Rail Services, advice is available on member of staff know before you board the the National Rail Enquiry Service (NRES) by phone train. We will make sure that someone is ready on 0800 022 3720 or via to assist you on arrival. Help points are also disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/travel-assistance. available across our station network. For passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing, booking assistance is possible by Minicom Although we aim to help customers board or textphone on 0845 60 50 600 alight from trains as quickly as possible, there may be a delay of up to five minutes at Although seats cannot be reserved on TfL Rail terminating stations. You will be informed of services, we will make every effort to ensure that any possible delay at the time of booking and we wheelchair spaces are prominently marked for recommend you allow extra time to make any wheelchair users so that reduced mobility connections. customers can get a seat on the train. 6 7 Assistance for customers (continued) Alternative accessible transport for customers with reduced mobility We are committed to keeping industry databases updated with any changes to the accessibility of Where our stations are not accessible to you facilities and services at our stations to ensure (preventing you from accessing the train) we will that information on the National Rail Enquiries provide alternative transport at no additional cost and TfL websites are up to date. (eg accessible taxi or direct local bus). This will include those occasions when a station becomes The ‘Stations made easy’ pages on the National temporarily inaccessible, eg when a lift is out of Rail Enquiries website provide an interactive tool order and you are unable to manage the stairs, or with more information regarding the accessibility when any replacement service during service of facilities and services and will be updated disruption is inaccessible. whenever there is a change to accessibility as follows: When you arrive at the station, we will ensure • Any physical constraints preventing mobility that alternative transport is arranged to take reduced customers from using the station you to the nearest accessible station or your • Any significant temporary work affecting destination station (whichever is nearest) station accessibility • Any changes to stations that would make We only provide alternative transport services them temporarily inaccessible, eg lifts and between stations served by TfL Rail or other toilets out of order National Rail operators when our stations and • Any facilities on trains being unavailable if trains are inaccessible. Customers using this would have a material impact on a mobility alternative accessible transport are required to impaired customer's journey, including the hold a valid ticket for the journey they wish temporary use of inaccessible trains to make. 8 9 Customer information Customer information (continued) We provide clear and consistent information The following maps and guides are also available regarding train departures and we work closely from tfl.gov.uk with other Train Operating Companies to ensure that our information is in line with industry good • Audio Tube map practice. Our staff are available to provide up-to- A guide to Tube, Docklands Light Railway date information and there are also customer (DLR) London Overground and TfL Rail Help Points, fitted with induction loops, on all • Large print (colour or black and white) stations. Tube maps These include Tube, DLR, London Overground The TfL Rail control centre are responsible for and TfL Rail available at tfl.gov.uk/maps ensuring that our industry databases are updated • Getting around London – with any changes to the services we provide Your guide to accessibility within 24 hours. This provides help with planning journeys using Tube, DLR, London Overground, You can also get full details of the services that TfL Rail, buses, taxis and private hire vehicles, we offer from our Customer Services Team trains, trams and riverboats; available in large based at TfL customer service contact centre at print and Braille at tfl.gov.uk/accessguides www.tfl.gov.uk or any member of station staff. • Step-free Tube guide Our station staff have access to the National Rail This identifies and gives further details Enquiries website and the ‘Stations made easy’ on step-free access at Tube, DLR, pages, as well as the TfL website and can provide London Overground and TfL Rail stations at information about our facilities, services and the tfl.gov.uk/accessguides accessibility of our stations • Tube toilet map and trains. The locations of toilet and baby changing facilities on the Tube, London Overground DLR, and TfL Rail at tfl.gov.uk/accessguides. This guide is downloadable only 10 11 Fares and tickets Fares and tickets (continued) Local boroughs provide Freedom Passes to If you hold a Disabled Persons Railcard provide older Londoners free travel on almost all disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk), please remember public transport in London (as far as Shenfield). to show it when buying your ticket. Railcard Freedom Pass holders can travel free on Tube, discounts are also available from ticket machines. DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail, bus, tram and Visually impaired customers without a Railcard National Rail services. Although time restrictions are entitled to discounts when travelling with a apply on some National Rail services, Freedom companion and should present their Certificate Pass holders can travel on TfL Rail services at any of Visual Impairment (CVI) or BD8 certificate.