Southern is the first train operator in England and Wales to fund and install ‘Maps for All’, ensuring passengers can use the stations with ease.
‘Maps for All’ are static maps which can be read by sight or touch and have been installed in consultation and liaison with RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind).
The maps are tactile, multicoloured and easy to use and are particularly useful to passengers who have not used the station before, passengers with learning difficulties and passengers who have a visual impairment.
They detail all the facilities available at the station in Braille and raised coloured plastic so that passengers can find their own way to the station facilities.
Three Bridges, Hove, Worthing and Lewes are the first Southern stations to have the maps installed.
Kirsty Monk, Southern’s Accessibility Manager said:
“We already have information zones at our stations which group information into categories such as station, train and onward travel information, but these maps will make it even easier for those who find it difficult to read information in poster format to find key information about the station they are in.”
Sue King, RNIB Tactile Images and Maps Consultant said:
“Blind and partially sighted people often have great difficulty in comprehending the layout of railway stations because they are unable to look around them in the same way that sighted people can. By providing these maps, Southern is allowing blind and partially sighted people, in particular, independent access to information that is crucial when using the stations.”
Southern plans to install ‘Maps for All’ at Brighton, Haywards Heath and Redhill stations in the near future.
