Great Northern has launched a new mobile assistance team for Downham Market, Littleport and Watlington stations in East Anglia.

The mobile team is available to provide assistance to anyone who needs assistance either at a station or with boarding a train.

That may be an older person with luggage, someone who is visually impaired, or someone with a wheelchair or mobility scooter who needs a ramp to board the train.

The mobile assistance team is based at Downham Market, and when required at Littleport or Watlington will drive there, aiming to arrive within 20 minutes, and help the customer to board the train.

At the same time they will also notify the customer’s destination station of their arrival time.

The mobile assistance team will also be there to meet the customer off the train on their return journey.

Customers can book mobile assistance in advance by contacting the assisted travel team either online or by calling 0800 138 1016, or when they arrive at the station by contacting the control centre from the station help point, using the ‘emergency and assisted travel button’, calling freephone 0808 168 1238, or texting 07970 511077.

One grateful user of the new service is Gio Strawbridge, who works at a tech company in London and has been commuting to King’s Cross from Downham Market on the Fen Line between King’s Lynn and Cambridge for seven years.

At the time he travels Downham Market station is staffed, but at other times it is unstaffed all the time, and the smaller stations at Littleport and Watlington have no staff at all.

Gio can now have help from the mobile assistance team within 20 minutes, every day of the week, weekends included.

Gio said: “Being able to use the train is extremely important for me, for as much as I can work from home which is easy convenient and easy, there are occasions every week when I do need to travel into work. If the train wasn’t available, the only other option would be to drive which I would never do.

“It’s just a fabulous service. The staff at the station are really helpful and make sure I board the train I want, that I’m comfortable on the train, and make sure I’m safe.

“The assistance staff at King’s Cross are fantastic as well. It gives me the ability to travel into London to work and I know I’m safe. The train service is flexible for people who have mobility issues, I don’t have to worry.

“Ray and John on the mobile assistance team are really good and you get the personal touch which I really like. You are very important to them and you are known. I know as soon as I pull into Downham there’ll be someone there waiting with the ramp.”

Great Northern‘s Accessibility Lead Carl Martin said: “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve the level of service we give people who need assistance, to overcome the barriers that prevent independent travel on the railway.

“This latest mobile assistance team could transform the lives of many of our customers. It will help us create a more accessible and inclusive railway, where everyone has the confidence to travel with us.

“We really want people to try out the service and let us know what they think about it through our customer contact centre.”