Request assistance before you travel
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Older and disabled customers can request help and support from staff to assist you when travelling by train. Depending upon where and when you’re travelling, you can give as little as 2 hours notice for this.
If your journey is direct between two stations managed by TransPennine Express, you can request assistance with as little as 2 hours notice before you travel. If your journey isn’t with TransPennine Express, is to or from a station which we don’t manage, or involves a change, you can request help with as little as 24 hours notice.
There’s a few ways you can let us know you need a assistance:
By Phone:
Call our Assisted Travel Team on 0800 107 2149
Customers who are deaf or hard of hearing can use the Text Relay service by adding the prefix 18001 in front of the number. A relay assistant will translate your call to text with the Next Generation Text service. To find out more about this service, visit ngts.org.uk
Lines are open 06:00 to 23:00 daily, and 24 hours if requesting assistance for a direct journey between two TransPennine Express stations. Check out our Making Rail Accessible guide for more details.
Online:
Complete the Assisted Travel Form at the bottom of the page, and one of our assisted travel team will process your request and be in touch should confirmation of any details be required.
Be aware, webforms need to be submitted at least 24 hours prior to you commencing your journey.
Assisting you at the station
We can assist older and disabled customers throughout the station, offering help with:
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Providing a ramp to help with boarding and alighting trains, and help connecting between services
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Lifting luggage on and off the train and helping you around the station
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Providing help to use the stairs at stations where step free access is not available.
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Provide a station wheelchair or buggy to help with covering longer distances which may be too far for you to walk
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Providing guidance around the station
Other services are also available. Our Assisted Travel Team can discuss with you what help can be provided at each station.
To help our teams, when you have requested assistance, you should arrive at the station in plenty of time, no less than 20 minutes before your train is due to depart and make yourself known to station staff. Our Assisted Travel Team will confirm your meeting point with you.
Assisting you on board
You can also get assistance when on board the train with finding your seat, or from our on-board staff during your journey.
All trains operated by TransPennine Express meet the accessibility standards set by the government, with dedicated wheelchair user spaces, priority seating, accessible toilets, audio and visual announcements, and much more. Why not take a look at our seating plans to help familiarise yourself before you travel?
Please be aware: With regret, it is not possible for wheelchair users to access First Class on our Class 185 and Class 350 trains. There are also some other trains used in the UK which similarly cannot offer first class travel to wheelchair users. Our Assisted Travel Team can help you to identify these.
Scooters on board
Mobility Scooters
We recognise that for many, a mobility scooter enables journeys which may otherwise not be possible, and we seek to carry them on our trains wherever it is safe to do so.
Folded or dismantled scooters can be taken on all our train services. You can request assistance from staff to help lift the folded or dismantled scooter on and off the train and store it safely in one of the luggage stacks on board, but our staff cannot fold or dismantle your scooter for you.
Alternatively, you can apply for a scooter card, which may allow you to take your scooter onto the train without having to fold it. We issue Scooter Cards to customers whose scooters have the ability to safely board and alight the train using the ramp, without risk of tipping, causing an obstruction, or causing injury to the user, our staff, or other customers. Often, scooter cards will specify the type of train you can travel on and which stations you can board and alight at.
You can find out more and to apply for a scooter permit download our Scooter Policy (PDF).
Good to know
Our commitment to rail travel assistance is just one of the ways we’re making your train journey better. Be sure to read all about the Disabled Persons Railcard which can help you save money on your rail travel.
Full details of the services we provide to help older and disabled customers, and the improvements we are making to our services for customers with additional needs, can be found in the following documents (Word and PDF versions available):
