The Current Experience of Disabled People
Much can and has been said about the flaws with British railways. As a team of accessibility consultants, Direct Access has tried our hardest to facilitate accessibility improvements with the many companies that have partnered with us, including Transport for Wales, Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express, among others. However, for the most part, British disabled people are still largely being failed by Britain’s railway system, particularly when it comes to the accessibility and delivery of travel information, which is fundamental when using these services.
Adding insult to injury within an already flawed system, something that truly demonstrated the mismatch between rail companies’ outward appearance of accessibility and a deep lack of understanding occurred when the former Conservative government encouraged the widespread closure of 1000 ticket offices at major stations, a decision that was then reversed after major public and political backlash. Concerns at the time focused on the impact on elderly and disabled passengers (many of whom were deaf), as well as digital exclusion, safety and loss of human assistance. A public consultation even drew over 680,000 responses, with most people objecting to the closures.
Given how it already takes longer for the average disabled person to plan their journey and accommodate for stress, confusion, and disruption, closing those staffed offices would have forced thousands of disabled people to use machines, apps, or online systems that would not have necessarily accommodated their sensory impairments, which leads us to the core discussion of this blog, which is where else we believe deaf and BSL users are still being let down, and how we see a path forward to improving the situation and culture surrounding accessibility on the UK rail network.
How Deaf People Are Still Let Down by British Railways
Consider the fact that more than any other minority group, disabled people are the most dependent on public transit services. With this reality in mind, there is no reasonable excuse for railway providers to not make sincere attempts to accommodate disabled people not just because it is the right thing to do, but particularly as they are a core user base of the system itself.
Frustratingly, while individual rail companies often promote commitments to accessibility and inclusion within their outward marketing strategy (as with most companies), the reality we see is that passengers still face continued exclusion, frustration, and unnecessary dependence on others. Visit any train station in the UK, and you will find that most of the essential travel information remains overwhelmingly audio-based, with inconsistent visual alternatives and minimal provision for deaf people, and in particular, British Sign Language users, despite BSL gaining legal status as a recognised language in the UK since 2022.
Back at the start of 2025, Network Rail announced that BSL screens were operational at all 20 of their stations, apparently ensuring that deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers were able to access essential travel information in real time. This was undoubtedly a major and welcome improvement for deaf BSL users. However, as of 2026, that implementation has not been echoes across the network (though some have provided similar services, such as ScotRail), but this does not yet cover all important travel information points.
While offering BSL screens is, of course, a welcome start, they remain largely inconsistent across the network, and do not solve the key issue of interpersonal communication for deaf BSL users at stations or on trains themselves. As it stands, many deaf rail passengers struggle to communicate with rail staff for assistance, since the overwhelming majority are not trained in immediate British Sign Language interpreting and rely entirely on spoken English for communication. Telephone enquiries are also largely impossible, for obvious reasons.
These issues indicate, like the Government’s reversed announcement of ticket office closures, not a lack of commitment to support disabled people, but a lack of understanding of the solutions available. At Direct Access, we believe that with appropriate consultation and collaboration with deaf people, accessibility experts, and staff training, the British railway system can easily rival the best European services.
How British Rail Companies Can Innovate for Better Accessibility
We love to see that some companies have made active efforts to improve the situation. Northern, for instance, has piloted BSL announcements on trains where a BSL interpreter appears on onboard screens to sign essential information such as upcoming stations, while companies like Govia Thameslink Railway and Greater Anglia offer services through apps, allowing deaf passengers to connect with a live BSL interpreter for assistance.
Innovations that we believe would improve access include the installation of digital screens across the whole network that display real-time BSL interpretation of live audio announcements, such as train arrivals, departures, platform changes, or disruptions. For routine announcements (e.g., “Next train to London departs from platform 4”), pre-recorded BSL videos can be triggered automatically alongside audio announcements.
But again, technology innovations aside, increasing accessibility also means improving human interaction. If station and onboard staff are trained in deaf awareness and basic BSL, they can offer more inclusive support and reduce anxiety for deaf passengers who aren’t using technology at a given moment. This would also improve the accessibility of rail services for people with anxiety, as well as deaf individuals who depend on lip-reading.
These measures would allow BSL users to access the same station information as hearing passengers, reducing reliance on others, lowering stress, and increasing independence and confidence while travelling.
What We Are Doing
Direct Access works with railway companies to reduce specific pressure points for disabled passengers. We have had enormous success in relation to the needs of visually impaired passengers thus far, with our Accessible Menus (in Large Print, Easy Read, and Braille) becoming popular on services managed by the likes of TransPennine and Avanti West Coast. We have also provided accessibility audits that served as the foundation for refurbishments of numerous individual train stations.
At Birmingham International and Coventry Station, we have also provided Tactile Maps utilising raised lines, textures and braille labels to represent key station features such as platforms, entrances, exits, ticket halls, toilets and accessible routes, that have enabled users to build a mental map of the station layout before and during their journey.
Direct Access can also provide specialised accessibility training for rail organisations, equipping staff with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to support disabled customers effectively and respectfully. Our training programs are designed to go beyond basic awareness, focusing instead on practical competence, inclusive service delivery, and cultural understanding of D/deaf and disabled experiences.
Learn more about our staff training services here.