We are committed to giving excellent customer service to all of our passengers.
We recognise that the rail system can present people who have disabilities with some difficulties, so it is essential we deliver our service in a flexible way that meets the needs of everyone.
We strive to offer a "turn up and go" service to all our passengers. However, this is not always possible for passengers who require assistance getting on or off our trains. Much of our network was built in an age when the needs of passengers with disabilities were not considered. As a result of this, some of our stations are not fully accessible to passengers with disabilities. In addition, please bear in mind that there are parts of the day when there may be no station employees available to assist, or occasions when a large number of passengers require help at the same time.
Book assisted travel
We recommend that you let us know if you require assistance at least 24 hours in advance of travel.
Booking in advance enables us to check the accessibility of the stations you will be using, plan with you the journey best suited to your needs, and arrange alternative accessible transport if it is necessary and available.
The 24-hour notice period also gives us time to relocate our employees if you are going to travel from a station that is usually unstaffed at the time you will be travelling.
If you cannot give us 24 hours notice, we will do our best to assist you but cannot always guarantee that assistance will be available, especially if your intended journey involves another train operator’s services.
If you need our staff to assist you when travelling, please consider the weight and size of any luggage you may have with you. At some of our stations our employees are able to help with items of luggage if they are physically fit enough to do so and other duties do not stop them from being able to help. Some staff may have safety and security roles that prevent them being able to carry passengers’ luggage further than a platform exit.
Accessible information
Braille, audio or large print versions of all South West Trains literature are available from our Customer Service Centre.
