MOBILITY scooter users can now travel to and from more railway stations than ever before across the Northern network – with Warrington Central and Padgate stations becoming “user friendly.”
Another 38 stations across the network are now “mobility scooter-friendly”, bringing the total to more than 160 stations across 28 routes.
New routes include Liverpool Lime Street – Manchester Oxford Road, via Warrington Central.
For the safety of all passengers, anyone travelling on a mobility scooter must first obtain a permit from Northern to ensure the model they use meets certain size and manoeuvrability specifications.
The scheme is free and registered passengers are given a personalised sticker that will be easily identified and be placed on the pre-assessed vehicle. This will be accompanied by a card that can be carried by customers if they use scooters that don’t have a suitable place to display the sticker.
Maxine Myers, accessibility improvement manager, at Northern said: “A total of 28 routes across our network are now scooter friendly – and more will be rolled out in the near future as we continue to make our trains and stations as accessible as possible for our passengers.
“The scheme has already been very popular, and we want our customers to know that our network can accommodate scooter users to help them get where they need to be.
“It’s important mobility scooter-users register for the scheme, as some models are not suitable – or safe – to travel on our trains. If they cannot manoeuvre easily within the limited space on-board, they could cause obstructions in the event of an emergency.”
Application forms for scooter permits can be completed online here, as well as information about eligible mobility scooters.
Mark Powles, customer and commercial director at Northern, said: ““We are committed to giving people with additional mobility needs the confidence to travel by rail. We want to support our customers whenever they need it.
“The mobility scooter scheme is an example of this commitment and we’ll be looking to deliver improved accessibility across our network as we roll out similar improvements at other stations in the future.”
Northern recently banned all e-scooters, hoverboards and e-skateboards across its trains and stations. However, electric wheelchairs and e-bikes are exempt from the ban – as are mobility scooters for those with access needs, as long as they are registered with the train operator’s Mobility Scooter Permit Scheme – which checks devices by a range of criteria to make sure they are safe to use on-board.
