The assisted travel lounge at Reading station was formally opened at a special event Wednesday 29 September.
The travel lounge, which aims to provide a safe, calm and pleasant space for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility to wait for their train, was officially opened at a special ribbon cutting event attended by representatives from Network Rail, GWR and Reading Borough Council – as well as our member Trish.
The assisted travel lounge first opened in July and since opening has welcomed more than 500 passengers.
Following £180,000 of investment from Network Rail, an empty retail space was transformed into the assisted travel lounge offering passengers with reduced mobility seating at higher levels, an accessible interactive information screen, phone and electronic device charging facilities, and plenty of space for mobility aids and wheelchair users.
Now fully operational, the assisted travel lounge is open daily between 10am and 6pm and is operated by a member of GWR’s customer ambassador team who are always on hand to help any passengers requiring assistance.
Bernadette Sachse, Network Rail’s Stations Transformation Insights Lead, said: “I have had the privilege of working on this project since its infancy as an idea through to a fully operational assisted travel lounge we have today. “We set out to create a safe, light, calm, pleasant space for our passengers to feel safe and comfortable and receive a high standard of customer service. It has been rewarding to see the assisted travel lounge being used so well and how it is clearly benefitting passengers as part of their journeys.”
Find out more about it here: https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/ribbon-cutting-event-marks…