55-Year-old Diane Rose from the village of Melbourn in Cambridgeshire is helping to promote a brand new service by Great Northern and Thameslink, which will support disabled passengers and those in need of customer assistance at Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton stations.

Diane who works at the local Co-op has been blind since 2013 after a genetic condition took her eyesight suddenly.

It was very quick. All I thought, at first, was I had was a stye in my eye. My son developed it when he was 19 – the first family member in generations. Then my niece, Skye, who’s 24 and also lives in the village, lost her eyesight as well.

Taking the train is very important because it helps me keep my independence. I use it to meet up with friends in London or the pub socials with the VIS (visually impaired society) in Cambridge, and I go to Ely to visit my son.

I have my guide dog Zen (so named because she’s very calm!) but sometimes there’s a gap between the platform and the train and I’m never sure how big that is. Having someone to assist me makes all the difference.

Diane Rose

The rail operators have launched a mobile assistance team to support disabled customers. The specially trained team will be based out of Royston and will have a van which will allow them to get to the stations within 20 minutes of receiving a call for assistance. The facility will be available every day, including weekends.

All but one of the station’s platforms feature step-free access, which allows the team to use ramps to board trains for those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters.

The support facility is also available to help other customers, such as elderly people travelling with luggage, those who are visually impaired or parents with pushchairs.

Passengers who need assistance on arriving at the stations can contact the control centre via the station help point by using the ’emergency and assisted travel button’ or by phone or by text.

Customers who wish to book mobile assistance ahead can do so via the Passenger Assistance app or by phone.

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.

Our 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.

Carl Martin, Great Northern and Thameslink’s Accessibility Lead

Our community thrives on its transport links and it’s vital that everyone can use the railway. We’ve been working hard to improve accessibility and this initiative by Great Northern and Thameslink will make a genuine difference to our villagers.

Susan van de Ven, Chair of the Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Community Rail Partnership