Accessible Travel Information

Passenger Assist

At Chiltern Railways we want to provide a great service for all our customers, including those with special travel needs or those who would appreciate a helping hand.

What can our Assisted Travel Team help with?

Our Assisted Travel Team can help you in all kinds of situations, such as:

• Advice about access at the stations you want to use.
• Assisting you when you arrive at the station, change trains or reach your destination.

If you have a disability that makes travelling by train difficult, you may qualify for discounted travel – ask the Assisted Travel Team for details.

Contact us using British Sign Language (BSL)                            

We have partnered with Online BSL Interpreting Service, SignLive.

If you are a BSL user, you can use SignLive to connect to us via an Interpreter. Just log in to the SignLive app on iOS, Android, or a web browser and find us in the Community Directory. When you call, the Interpreter may confirm who you want to get in touch with.

Please click here for a YouTube video that describes the SignLive service.

How to Access SignLive:

The first time you use SignLive you will need to complete a one-time registration. This will keep your account secure and allow us to call you back if needed.

You can access SignLive via the app or a web browser. Visit www.signlive.co.uk/login for more information.

For frequently asked questions visit: https://signlive.co.uk/faq/

For any SignLive technical issues, please contact:

Email [email protected]

Booking Passenger Assistance

If you know you are going to be travelling, you can call 03456 005 165 (selecting option 3 then option 3 again), to book assistance before 10:00pm the day before travel, and our Assisted travel Team will make special arrangements for travel from all our stations.
If you’re deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired, use the NGT app and dial 0870 240 9598 and request 03456 005 165 (selecting option 3 then option 3 again). 

I need assistance to complete my journey. Will this still be available during the Coronavirus outbreak?

If you need assistance to go by train, staff will continue to provide help.

• We encourage passengers to book assistance in advance to ensure that staff are prepared for your journey. 
• Different rail operators might have different approaches and we advise that you should check with all operators you are using and we encourage you to book if using several operators in a journey.
• Our staff will wash or sanitise their hands before the assistance is carried out. 
• Our staff are issued with masks and will wear them when providing assistance. 
• If our staff need to push a wheelchair on board a train (or help with alighting) they will wipe down the handles before and after use. 
• When guiding someone with a visual impairment, they will ensure there is no skin-to-skin contact and staff will remain facing forwards. 
• Our staff will remain 2m away from the passenger whilst waiting for the train to arrive on the platform.
• Passengers will be asked to remain 2m away whilst a ramp is being put in position. 
• All passengers will be guided to the appropriate area on board for their journey. 

Help us to help you

Please book passenger assistance as you normally would. When booking, it would really help if you could tell us if the assistance you require will involve our assistance staff coming within 2 metres of you. For example, if you need physical help to board the train or someone to physically guide you from train to station or vice versa

We require that you try to follow the government guidance on face coverings and social distancing during your journey.

Our staff may wear a face covering or other protective wear e.g. a visor, when providing assistance to you. This is to keep you and our staff as safe as possible.

For more information on how we are providing assistance in line with Government advice, please click here. 

Wheelchair spaces

We welcome customers in mobility scooters on our trains and can carry customers in scooters and wheelchairs up to 700mm wide and 1200mm long with a maximum weight of 300kg (including your weight). Customers may remain in scooters and wheelchairs when travelling and can use the dedicated wheelchair bays on our trains.
Priority seating is available in every coach and is situated nearest the vestibules and is clearly signed. 

Accessible stations

Click here for an interactive map that gives you information on how accessible stations around the UK are. If you are using a mobile device, we recommend visiting the station page you are travelling to and from which will provide accessibility information.

Accessible toilets

Are available in the coaches next to the wheelchair spaces and are clearly indicated on the outside of the units by the yellow strip and signage on the doors. 
All of our manned stations have accessible toilets. 

Car Parking

Disabled drivers with Blue Badges can park for free at all of our stations. On your first visit to the station car park you must speak to ticket office staff, who will check your Blue Badge and register your vehicle on the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. You must clearly display your Blue Badge on your vehicle dashboard every time you park. 
If no staff are available at your nearest station then please contact us here.

Onboard

Our trains all have an interior colour scheme designed to help those with visual difficulties. To assist those with hearing problems, all our carriages have electronic visual displays showing the stations at which the service calls. 

Discounted travel FAQs

If you have a disability that makes travelling by train difficult you may qualify for discounted travel. Concessionary fares If you’re registered as blind or visually-impaired and are travelling with another person then you’re entitled to special concessionary fares and discounts. You can save:

Please carry a document confirming your visual impairment when buying your ticket and when travelling. This must be from a recognised institution such as Social Services, your Local Authority, The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) or Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s).

Wheelchair users

If you need to stay in your own wheelchair during your journey the above concessionary fares also apply if you are travelling alone or to any one adult travelling with you. 

Disabled Person’s Railcard

If you have a disability that makes travelling by train difficult you might qualify for the Disabled Person's Railcard. A Railcard gives you and an adult companion 1/3 off most Standard and First Class fares throughout the UK. It also lets you purchase discounted tickets on the train you’re travelling on. A one year card currently costs £20. A three year card is also available for £54.

Season tickets for the visually impaired

If you are blind or visually-impaired you can buy a season ticket that allows a companion to travel with you for free. You can buy these tickets at staffed stations, just remember to carry a document confirming your visual impairment when buying your ticket and travelling. This needs to be from a recognised institution such as Social Services, your Local Authority, The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) or Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s).

Delays & alternative transport

If the train you are due to catch is seriously delayed, we’ll make sure you have a suitable place to wait in the station. We will also help out if there’s a platform change too. If your train is seriously delayed or cancelled before you reach your final destination (as shown on your train ticket) we’ll do our best to get you there by other means, either by arranging a seat for you on another train or by alternative transport suitable for your needs. If we still can’t get you to your final destination, we will get you as close as reasonably possible. Where necessary, we will arrange overnight hotel accommodation for you until we can get you there. If you are travelling on a train operated by another train company and due to circumstances within their control that train is unable to continue its journey, they will try to get you to your final destination by other means. In certain circumstances, according to the conditions set down in our Passenger's Charter, compensation and refunds will be available.
You can find out more about Refunds and Compensation here.

When services and facilities are unavailable

We always do our best to make sure that the facilities you need to use on our services, such as lifts and call-for-assistance buttons, are in good working order. If they fail and cannot be repaired immediately, our Assisted Travel Team will be informed of the problem and estimated repair time as soon as possible. We also pass this information on to other train operators. Wherever possible, we will offer other means of access or alternative transport free of charge. We will consult the Department for Transport about any facilities we remove permanently and provide a suitable replacement. Very occasionally, trains may not have the anticipated wheelchair spaces or wheelchair-accessible toilets in place if, for example, the appropriate coach is not available. In the rare cases of wheelchair-accessible toilets not working, we’ll give you the option of catching a different train.

Further information

For fares and services or to book tickets please call us on 03456 005 165 (0700hrs to 2200hrs) or Textphone: 08457 078 051. If your vision is impaired and you would appreciate a large print (A3 paper sized) version of our timetable booklet please call 03456 005 165 (Mondays to Fridays, 0830 to 1730). To help to inform you before you travel, the follow documents are available to you, click to open the documents: 

• 06:22 from Bicester North to London Marylebone
• 17:21 from London Marylebone to Bicester North (Mon-Thurs) and to Banbury on Fridays only.