Passenger Assist and accessibility | Great Western Railway

Passenger Assist is a national system used by all train companies, which allows us to make the necessary arrangements for your journey.

How it works

If you have a disability, non-visible disability, or are elderly, you can pre-book journey assistance. We can make sure you get all the help you need for your journey and will arrange everything, including changes, and connections that involve other train companies.

How to book assistance

You just need to let us know at least 2 hours before your journey. Our Passenger Assist Team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (excluding 25 and 26 December).

Book assistance online

You can also book assistance by:

using the Passenger Assistance app (by Transreport)
calling our Passenger Assist team free on 0800 197 1329*
dialling text relay free on 18001 0800 197 1329

*You can purchase travel tickets when you call to book assistance, including cheaper advance fares where available, all within a single transaction.

Accessible Travel Policy
Our Accessible Travel Policy outlines Great Western Railway’s commitments and standards of service for disabled and mobility-impaired customers.

To make it easier to find the information you’re looking for, we've set out our policy in two documents:

Accessible Travel Policy
Making Rail Accessible: Helping older and disabled passengers

We want everyone who travels with us to have a safe and enjoyable journey. This leaflet explains how our Passenger Assist service can help elderly and disabled customers.
It is also available from our staffed stations. And, you can ask for it in a range of alternative formats, including audio and Welsh, from our Passenger Assist team:
- phone 0800 197 1329
- text relay free on 18001 0800 197 1329
- email Passenger.assist@GWR.com
Accessibility Manager GWR
Milford House
Swindon
SN1 1HL

Email: tom.law@gwr.com
Good to know
You need to get to the station at least 30 minutes before your train leaves. Just let a member of our team know when you arrive.

For general information on our network, including any temporary reductions in accessibility and details of any disruptions to facilities or services please use our JourneyCheck tool.

If you’ve pre-booked Passenger Assist with us, you can get help or assistance on your journey by getting in touch with our Social Media Team between 06:00 and 23:00 any day of the week. Tweet @GWRHelp or send a WhatsApp message to 07890 608043.

Wheelchair sizes carried
- width: 700mm
- length: 1200mm (including footplates)
- weight: 300kg (including passenger)
Devon Access Wallet

The Devon Access Wallet scheme is an initiative to help make journeys by bus or train easier for anyone with communication difficulties, people with disabilities, deaf people and those whose first language is not English.

Find out more about the Devon Access Wallet.
Platforms with tactiles at GWR stations

Not all platforms at GWR stations have warning tactiles at the platform edge, and where they do not, we are working with Network Rail to have these installed.

The documents below list the stations and platforms that currently do and do not have platform edge tactile surfaces. These documents are compatible with screen readers.

Download the PDF of stations with tactile paving (PDF, 62 KB).

Download the Microsoft Word document of stations with tactile paving.
Rail Access Map

View the step-free status of all stations using the Rail Delivery Group access map.
Sensory support
Travel Sensory Packs: Plymouth to Penzance

On 1 March 2023, we will be trialling GWR Sensory Packs along the Plymouth to Penzance route.

Packs are available for passengers with sensory needs. The packs contain (subject to availability):
- Luggage tag
- Travel card holder
- Fidget toy
- Stress ball
- Travel assistance card
- Reference card for GWR's Guide to Travelling with Confidence
- Pen
To get a sensory pack, you must order in advance by emailing accessibilitymentors@gwr.com.

You must be able to provide evidence of a purchased ticket for services within Plymouth to Penzance. You will also need to share the name of the recipient. We will hold this data only to monitor impact and issue.

Please note, only a limited number of packs are available. If you order a pack, we will deliver it to your locally staffed station. Please provide two weeks' notice, before your date of travel, for our packs can reach you in time.

After a passenger receives their pack, we encourage them to take it on all future journeys.

Packs are issued on a first come, first served basis.

Emergency sensory overload support: Plymouth to Penzance

Emergency ear defenders will be in place as a trial at staffed locations on the Plymouth to Penzance route, from 1 March 2023.

These are for use if you or a member of your travelling party experience sensory overload. Ask our colleagues about finding a quiet location, and they will ask if you would like to use our ear defenders. Please return these to the colleague prior to leaving the station.

Ear defenders will be available while station staff are in place at:
- Bodmin Parkway
- Cambourne
- Liskeard
- Par
- Penzance
- Plymouth
- Redruth
- St Austell
- St Erth
- Truro
Supporting passengers with hidden disabilities

The Sunflower Lanyard has been designed to act as a discreet sign that the wearer, or someone in their party, has a hidden disability and may need additional help during their journey. Our team on board and at our stations will recognise and understand the symbol. If you need specific assistance, just ask and they’ll do their best to help. If you have a disability which means that you find verbal communication difficult, our lanyards have an additional card attached, which you can use to write down any help you require. If you are exempt from wearing a face covering whilst travelling, you can request a card that outlines this.

You are able to obtain a lanyard and card for free by either; contacting the GWR Passenger Assist team on 0800 197 1329, emailing passenger.assist@GWR.com, or by contacting GWR on social media. When requesting a lanyard, please specify if you wish to have a blank card or one with the message “face covering exempt” on it.

Further information on the Sunflower lanyard scheme can be found at: https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/

We also offer travel assistance cards that can be downloaded and customised to best suit your needs. For those passengers who find verbal communication difficult, these cards can be filled out as you wish and shown to our staff who will be happy to provide the help you need. They can be used on their own or alongside the sunflower lanyard. These cards are available in braille on request. Please email mobilityandinclusion@gwr.com if you require a braille assistance card.

Download our Travel Assistance Card (PDF, 97 KB)

Download our Hard of Hearing Card (PDF, 99 KB)
Useful downloads
- Mobility Scooter Policy and application (PDF, 996 KB) – we accept all wheelchairs onto our trains. Please apply the parking brake while on platforms, as some platforms may decline towards the track
- Priority seat card application (PDF, 149 KB)
- GWR facilities guide (PDF, 2004 KB)
- Assistance dog seat card A4 (PDF, 97 KB) and Assistance dog seat card A5 (PDF, 97 KB) – these cards are available for you to download, print and place on the seat next to you when your assistance dog is sat underneath. This lets other customers know the seat and the space under it should be kept free for your dog.

If we don’t give you the support you booked

All individual train operating companies have their own recompense policies, which can be found within their own Accessible Travel Policies. If you travel with GWR and your booked assistance fails, you will be compensated. If GWR fails to provide your booked assistance this will be 100% of the cost of a single ticket, or 50% if a return ticket is held. If another train company was responsible for the failure, you can contact them directly, or we can liaise with them on your behalf and provide you with a full explanation in response, including why it happened and what mitigating actions we intend to take as a result.

Our Customer Support team are ready to help and can be contacted by completing our online contact form.

The compensation scheme set out above does not limit or exclude your other legal rights to compensation under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, or Equalities Act 2010. If you believe this applies to your journey, please contact our Customer Support team who will take each case on its merits and respond appropriately.

Where assistance has not been provided due to a delay, and both Delay Repay and Assisted Travel redress could apply, you will be entitled to whichever value is the highest but will not be able to claim both.

For information regarding your rights when you are travelling as a consumer, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, see www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights.