Accessible travel

ScotRail is dedicated to assisting disabled customers and those people who need extra help.

Our aim is to provide assistance to those who need help when travelling on our network whether this has been booked in advance or not.

Please note: Our passenger assist service is operating as normal. In the unlikely event that we have had to close a Ticket Office at short notice due to staff absence, please make your way to a station Help Point, let us know you are there, and our train crew will assist you instead of station staff.

If you need assistance with your journey, you have two options:

Turn up and go

If you do not have time to book assistance in advance, you can turn up and request assistance from our ontrain or station team. Staff are trained to look out for customers that appear to need help on platforms before the train leaves the station.

If you are using an unstaffed station, you can speak to a member of staff via a Help Point.

Book in advance

You are able to book assistance at least one hour in advance for journeys on the ScotRail network. Where the journeys go beyond our network, and involve the use of other train operator services, you can request assistance up to 2 hours before your journey is due to start, any time of the day. However, please note that it is not possible to use all the booking channels available during daytime such as the use of our web-form. Any request that is done through this channel will only be processed between 0700 – 2200.

Please be aware that you can still use turn up and go without booking assistance in advance on our network. If you require assistance at short notice, please make yourself known to a member of staff or use a Help Point when you arrive at the station.

If you want to know more about our commitment to supporting disabled customers, take a look at our Accessible Travel Policy .

Watch our videos to find out more about the assistance available.

You can book assistance:

  • By visiting any staffed station on our network
  • Online: Assisted Travel booking form (please do not use this after 2200 and before 0700 as this will only be processed daytime hours of 0700 to 2200)
  • Passenger Assistance App by Transreport: available for download from App Stores; find out more .
  • Free Assisted Travel Helpline: 0800 046 1634. Phone bookings can be made any time of day, any day of the week.
  • Assisted Travel Textphone: 18001 0800 046 1634 (for deaf and customers who are hard of hearing)

British Sign Language (BSL) users

You can contact us via contactSCOTLAND-BSL the online British Sign Language interpreting service.

Find out more about contactSCOTLAND-BSL

Assistance

Staffed stations

Our trained staff will provide requested assistance to you at stations, including help with boarding and alighting between platforms and train, entering and leaving the station, travelling to and from car park drop-off/pick-up areas.

Our staff will help with luggage assistance when this has been booked in advance. Staff are trained in manual handling and will lift or pull luggage that would not cause injury to them.

Inaccessible stations, unstaffed stations and when ticket offices are closed

If you wish to travel to or from a station that is inaccessible to you, or one that is unstaffed when you need to use it, we can still provide you with assistance to help you make your journey.

We will discuss what help you need when you call us to book your assistance or when you contact us using the Help Point. Please see more information detailed in our Accessible Travel Policy .

In a situation that ScotRail has not been able to fulfil your pre-booked assistance, we’d like you to tell us about it. This enables us to understand the situation and identify opportunities to make it right.

Please speak to a member of our staff either on board a ScotRail train or at a station and tell them that your assistance has not been carried out. They will redress the situation by making new arrangements to get you to your destination.

We understand that, even if our staff have successfully redressed your situation by making new travel arrangements, you may still wish to make a P12 formal complaint and/or seek compensation

If you wish to do this, you must contact our Customer Relations department and give us details of your specific circumstances. We will fully investigate and contact you with our findings. You will be entitled to compensation under the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) which requires us to fully assess a situation and award appropriate redress in circumstances which fall significantly short of our standards.

The level of compensation awarded to you will depend on individual circumstances and could be:

  • A full or partial refund of your ticket via any of these methods:
  • Refund onto debit or credit card used for payment of ticket
  • Rail Travel vouchers (which may be exchanged for cash)
  • Refund into PayPal account
  • Bank transfer (bank details will be required)
  • Cheque
  • Delay Repay compensation if your failed assistance is as a result of disruption of 30 minutes or more
  • Compensation if you’ve had to pay for something, out of your own pocket, as a direct result of us failing to assist you
  • Compensation due to impact you have experienced as a direct result of failed assistance
  • In some cases, a combination of some or all the above may apply

When our investigation is complete, we will write to you with the outcome. If our investigation finds that the assistance you received fell below an acceptable standard, or that your assistance failed completely, we will discuss compensation with you based on the circumstances of your complaint. The amount of compensation payable, under these circumstances, is at the discretion of ScotRail using the findings of the investigation. We will advise you how much compensation you will be awarded and how we will pay this to you, then your complaint will be closed.

If you have travelled with another train operator or on a multi-leg journey, we are happy to assist you with your claim as much as we can. We will coordinate the response to your compliant if there are multiple train companies involved and provide you with a full explanation, including why it happened and what mitigating actions we intend to take as a result. We will coordinate the response between all operators involved, including if this was a multi-leg journey. At times, for you to get a speedier response, you may want to direct your complaint to the Train Operating Company on whose train you were travelling with when the incident occurred. If we receive a complaint which is a multi-leg journey, we will do our best to investigate for you and give you a full response. However, depending on the complexity and the involvement required from the other operator, we may take the decision that it’s in your best interest to have the complaint handled and responded to by them. If we do, we will ask for your permission to forward the complaint, to them, on your behalf.

ScotRail is also member of the Rail Ombudsman scheme. You can contact the Rail Ombudsman to ask them to take up a complaint if you are not happy with our final response. You can learn more about the Rail Ombudsman scheme from their website, https://www.railombudsman.org/ . Please see their contact details below;

Call: 0330 094 0362
Textphone: 0330 094 0363
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @RailOmbudsman
Post: FREEPOST – RAIL OMBUDSMAN

You can learn more about the Rail Ombudsman scheme from their website: https://www.railombudsman.org/

There are some complaints that the Rail Ombudsman will not be able to look into, for example if it is about the way one of our services has been designed, industry policy, or if your complaint relates to an event which the Rail Ombudsman is not empowered to address and if that is the case, they will contact you to let you know.

This Redress information is an extract from section 'A8 Redress' our Accessible Travel Policy document.

Whilst we make every effort to make our stations and trains accessible, we want you to be aware that some stations our trains stop at may have physical and navigational difficulties that could make them inaccessible to you.

Inaccessible stations

If you wish to use a station that is inaccessible to you (for example due to stairs or the station being unstaffed when you need to use it) we will book you an appropriate taxi at no extra charge between the inaccessible station and the nearest or most convenient accessible one for your journey.

During disruption

Where our services are disrupted, we will provide alternative accessible transport to take you and your companion to the nearest accessible station so that you can continue with your journey.

This service is provided at no extra charge if you have a valid rail ticket for the journey you want to make.

Substitute transport/planned engineering works

Where our services are disrupted, we will provide accessible transport to take you and your companion (where appropriate) to the nearest accessible station so that you can continue with your journey.

When a train service is subject to planned or unplanned engineering works, a compliant Public Service Vehicle in the form of a bus is normally provided. If it remains that you still cannot access the coach, we will provide an appropriate accessible taxi at no extra charge. The ScotRail policy is to prioritise procurement of buses that are compliant with the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulation first. If we fail to get compliant buses, we will ensure that alternative compliant accessible transport is available so that you don’t have to wait longer than necessary.

We aim to have information on the accessibility of rail replacement services on the National Rail Enquiries website so that you can plan your journey. We are also working with our supplier so that this information can also be hosted on the journey planner on the ScotRail website. We are committed to reviewing rail replacement contract every year.

You can buy discounted tickets for your journey. If you’re travelling with a companion, they can also buy a ticket at the discounted price. More information about discounts is available in our Accessible Travel Policy .

Wheelchair space on our trains is restricted to Standard Class carriages and to standard wheelchairs not exceeding 70cm wide, 120cm long, with a combined weight of less than 300 kilograms of user and wheelchair. These dimensions are in accordance with the National Technical Specification Notices 2021.

First Class areas don't have spaces for wheelchair users and there's no wheelchair access to accessible toilets from First Class. To travel in First Class, wheelchair users would need to be able to transfer to a seat.

We support the Disabled Persons Railcard, which offers discounts on a range of rail tickets.

Light travel scooters, no greater than 104cm (41") long and 56cm (22") wide and with a combined weight of less than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of user and scooter, can be accepted on all our trains. They are the only models that can be safely and efficiently manoeuvred into the disabled space.

  • Scooters must be stowed in the designated Disabled/Wheelchair areas but if the space is required by a wheelchair user, they must be relocated
  • If you can transfer to the seat, we would encourage you do to so rather than sitting on your scooter as this may be safer and more comfortable for you. We always recommend that customers check and follow the guidance stated in their specific manufacturer manual
  • The scooter must be parked and immobilised with the key taken out or battery switched off
  • Scooters must not have a canopy or a rear fitted basket as they may make the scooter too large for the available space
  • When you book, refer to your owner's manual for the dimensions

Portable ramps are provided on all our trains and at all accessible stations. These ramps can also be used for non wheelchair or scooter passengers who would otherwise find it difficult stepping on and off the train.

SignVideo is a service that delivers immediate access to online interpreting for deaf BSL users, enabling deaf and hearing people to communicate with each-other.

The service is available via a simple and straight forward app that can be used on both ScotRail staff and customer smartphones. The app is designed to allow ScotRail to aid deaf customers in any part of their journey, from information on trains during time of disruption to customer queries at stations or ticket offices.

Customers sign to an interpreter via the app through a video call, who will then relay the customer message to the member of ScotRail staff. The interpreter will then be able to sign the answer back to the customer.

Download the SignVideo app:

Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play

We are constantly improving facilities for all our customers. Find out more information here

Updates on station access

During improvements some stations may close temporarily while we upgrade our facilities. If a station has limited access, a warning or alert message will be put on the station landing page of the National Rail Enquiries . Alternatively, you can contact our Travel Assistance team if you want to know whether the station you want to use has temporary arrangements in place:

  • Telephone: 0800 046 1634
  • Textphone: 18001 0800 046 1634 (for deaf and hearing loss customers)

React is an audible directional system for visually impaired customers.

You can find it installed at the following stations:

  • Brunstane
  • Camelon
  • Dumfries
  • Larbert
  • Lenzie
  • Linlithgow
  • Kirkcaldy
  • Inverness

To get a fob that activates this system, contact

Web: www.react-tech.com
Telephone: 01457 861431

React House
Section G, Unit 9
Dinting Lane Industrial Estate
Dinting
Glossop
SK13 7NU

For all other customer enquiries, please contact Customer Relations on 0344 811 0141.