Northern has supported hundreds of people with autism to gain confidence to travel on the railway thanks to a collaboration with Leeds based charity Specialist Autism Services who focus on developing social, independence and communication skills for adults with autism.

The project has seen the rail operator provide free rail travel for autistic adults who use the West Yorkshire-based charity and has seen group sightseeing trips to Skipton and Saltaire, alongside supporting individual trips for shopping, exercise or social activities.

The partnership between Northern and Specialist Autism Services has been ongoing since 2018 and is focused on building confidence in independent rail travel for people with autism.

Lucy Struthers, service manager at the Leeds branch of SAS said:

“Over the time we have worked with Northern, the partnership has enabled hundreds of journeys for our members and staff and has made a big difference to our members.”

“Autistic individuals can struggle with social interaction, processing information, sensory difficulties, and high levels of anxiety. All these areas greatly affect their ability to understand, navigate and positively experience public transport because travel can create a host of challenges.”

“However, using public transport is the thing which if positive, can be so instrumental in empowering individuals to develop social and sensory tolerance, increase opportunities, widen experiences and build valuable independence skills, so these passes are hugely important for development and learning.”

Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said:

“At Northern, the communities we serve are always at the heart of everything we do, and we are delighted to be able to champion SAS in this way, as well as highlight the fantastic work of the charity.”

“We want to make our trains – and our wider network – as accessible as possible, and this is just one of the ways we are continuing to deliver a Northern that works for everyone and makes a positive difference.”