Making Rail Accessible
Helping Older and Disabled Passengers - Accessible travel policy May 2024
Introduction
At Caledonian Sleeper, we understand and recognise that our older and disabled guests may face a range of challenges when travelling by rail.
This leaflet sets the assistance available to those who may require it and other useful information for planning your journey.
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Our Guests
Rail customers are generally referred to as ‘passengers’. However, as we deliver a hospitality service, we consider our customers to be our guests and use this term in this leaflet.
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On board hosts
Our onboard Hosts will greet and support you on our trains. They will operate the onboard ramps and assist you with luggage if needed.
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Guest Service Centre
Our team of Guest Ambassadors work in the Guest Service Centre. Their job is to help you plan your journey, book tickets or rooms and give you any information about accessibility features so you can make informed choices. The contact details for the Guest Service Centre are below.
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Lounges
We operate our own Guest Lounges in London Euston, Dundee, Fort William, Inverness, Leuchars and Perth.
Our Guest Lounges all have accessible shower and toilet facilities, while Caledonian Sleeper hosts will be on hand to serve drinks and snacks to you ahead of and after your journey. We share lounges with other operators at Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central and Aberdeen.
More Information
We are more than just a train service; we want you to enjoy the full sleeper experience. We therefore recommend you plan and book your journey with us in this order:
- Plan your journey
- Review our timetable and the stations we stop at
- Check the station you want to use is accessible
- Consider whether our overnight accommodation suits your needs
2. Buy your tickets
Caledonian Sleeper tickets can be purchased up to 12 months in advance on this website by telephoning our Guest Service Centre on 0330 060 0500, or at any UK railway station ticket office.
3. Assistance and Access Needs
- Accessible rooms or wheelchair space in the seated coach can be booked online or over the phone at our guest service centre.
- Book assistance for your journey can be via the Passenger Assistance App www.passengerassistance.com, or guest can contact us via live chat and we can do a
Our Guest Service Centre can help you with all of these steps in one go.
Assistance: what is available and how to obtain it
You can book assistance to use our services, but you don’t have to. The benefit of booking over the phone with us is having the opportunity to talk through your accessibility requirements and make sure everything is in place before you travel.
What to expect – our commitment to you
Where to get more information and how to get in touch
You can get further information, advice and help planning your journey free of charge from our Guest Service Centre.
We can send you this leaflet in large print, free of charge. Please phone 0800 904 7267
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We can also send you:
- A copy of our Accessible Travel Policy – This explains our policies and processes, including details of our training programme and how we plan to improve services. This can also be downloaded from our website www.sleeper.scot.
- A copy of this leaflet or the Accessible Travel Policy in alternative accessible formats
- Station and train accessibility information – These can also be downloaded from our website, or National Rail’s interactive access map.
- Information on our Accessibility Panel and how you can get involved with our work with disabled people to improve accessibility.
If you have any queries or issues on the day of your journey please contact our Guest Service Centre.
Complaints
Any complaints should be sent to our Guest Service Centre and they will investigate and coordinate a response to you. If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint is dealt with you can contact the Rail Ombudsman directly:
Phone: 0330 094 0362 | |
Free Phone: 0800 904 7267 | |
Text: 07427 580 060 | |
Textphone: 0330 094 0363 | |
Email: info@railombudsman.org | |
Post: FREEPOST – RAIL OMBUDSMAN |
Passenger Assist
There is also a national freephone Passenger Assist booking line:
Phone: 0330 094 0362 | |
Free Phone: 0800 904 7267 | |
Text: 60083 | |
Textphone: 0845 60 50 600 |