Railway stations in the North are now fitted with electronic devices which support blind and visually impaired people in navigating facilities.

TransPennine Express (TPE) has fitted the Adi RoomMate® devices which provide an audio description mapping out features of the accessible toilet as part of a £100k investment to improve accessibility at the rail operator’s stations.

When entering a toilet, an automatic announcement is made and if more information is needed, the user can simply wave their hand.

The innovative new technology is available across all 16 of TPE’s staffed stations including Brough, Cleethorpes, Dewsbury, Grimsby Town, Huddersfield, Hull Paragon, Malton, Manchester Airport, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Selby, Stalybridge, Thirsk and Thornaby.

Scunthorpe station has also seen the installation of braille handrails for both sets of stairs as part of the same investment, with future plans to install the handrails at Grimsby Town.

Natasha Marsay, Accessibility & Inclusion Manager for TransPennine Express said:

“Continuing to make our trains and stations as inclusive as possible is incredibly important to us.

“The addition of audio devices in the accessible toilets at all 16 of our staffed stations, as well as braille handrails at Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe, will make a real difference and offer more independence for customers who are blind or have a visual impairment.”

Maqsood Sheikh, Regional Campaigns Officer at the RNIB said:

“We welcome the installation of RoomMate in 16 locations across the TransPennine Express (TPE) network which will make it more accessible for blind and partially sighted people to navigate toilets more easily as the technology provides an audio description of the toilet layout.

“It’s great to see TPE bringing in developments across their network as part of an accessibility boost for stations across the North. We know that customers can often feel overwhelmed travelling, and this will help blind and partially sighted people travel with confidence.”

To find out more and to see a demonstration of how the RoomMate® devices work please visit: http://easyaccessibility.co.uk/the-roommate

TPE has been awarded Inclusive Transport Committed status under the Department for Transport’s Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme for its work in making the railway more accessible.