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14
Oct
Sign language announcements to be introduced on Harrogate trains
Northern is set to roll-out announcements in sign language across all services.
The operator, which runs services to and from Harrogate, said the move comes after trialling British Sign Language (BSL) announcements on-board last year.
It would mean those with hearing impairments would be able to see someone interpreting the name of the next stop on a screen.
The names of each stop are already listed on the on-board screens, so the Stray Ferret asked Northern what additional benefits passengers would reap from the BSL videos.
A spokesperson said some people prefer seeing the announcements in BSL, while others prefer reading the name of the stops on the screen.
“We look to provide both to meet the needs of as many people as possible”, they added.
Northern plans to implement the new accessible announcements on all on-board screens across all services in 2025.
The BSL announcements would look like this.
Matt Rice, chief operating officer at Northern, said:
It’s fantastic to see these sign language announcements have been well received by our customers during the recent trial and we can now press ahead with rolling them out on all of our services.
We’re constantly working make our services more accessible and give people with specific needs the confidence to travel by train.
Northern also said it has long-term plans to introduce BSL announcements to inform people about cancellations, delays and disruption.
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