Touchscreens that provide travel announcements in British Sign Language for deaf passengers are now available in some of Britain’s busiest railway stations that are managed by Network Rail.

The touchscreens, which went live at the beginning of April, display signed travel information of the latest advice for travellers at the following stations:

• Birmingham New Street;
• Bristol Temple Meads;
• Leeds;
• Liverpool Lime Street;
• London Euston (that went live in June 2021);
• London Paddington;
• Manchester Piccadilly;
• Reading.

Next month, touchscreens will be available at London King’s Cross and London Liverpool Street.

The touchscreens were developed over the last three years by Nottingham-based screen manufacturer, LB Foster. The first operational touchscreen was rolled out in 2021 at London Euston Station to test the technology.

All four Network Rail-managed stations in its North West and Central region now have the screens and is the first of its regions to achieve the milestone.

As part of the screen software is a library of standard messages that can be seen instantly and were created by Sign Language interpreters. However, a team of interpreters is also on standby to make bespoke signed information to react to evolving situations or during unexpected service disruption.

Messages can be turned into British Sign Language within an hour, and the videos can be uploaded directly to the screens using 4G technology.

Dave Penney, Network Rail’s North West and Central region passenger director, said: “I’m really proud that the pioneering work started by the team at Euston station two years ago has now been rolled out at stations across the country to benefit deaf passengers who rely on British Sign Language.

“We know that rail travel can be daunting for anyone with specific needs, and I really hope this makes a difference to give people confidence to travel by rail. We are always developing new ways to improve accessibility so it’s great this initiative is being adopted far and wide.”

Further information about Network Rail’s commitment to making rail travel accessible is available online at https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/passengers/assisted-travel/accessible-travel-policy/