Berwick-upon-Tweed Railway Station

dystrophydad

15 Dec 2025

Berwick-Upon-Tweed Station

4

4

Date of visit: December 2025

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment, accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: changing places toilet, disabled toilet, hidden impairment, powerchair, toilet with hoist, toilets, walking aid, wheelchair

Overall Rating

Good

Berwick-Upon-Tweed Station is a small two-platform station with plenty of accessibility features and a rather lovely station manager, who was happy to hear suggestions on how to improve accessibility for disabled visitors. From the station there are services to London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, as well as regional services to Newcastle and other destinations along the east coast. I found the station very welcoming, and although I didn't catch a train, I feel confident that the staff would gladly help me board.

Disabled Access In and Around

Good

There is a crossing on the way to the front door, with tactile paving on each side of the road. The entrance has outward-opening automatic double doors, activated by a touchpad on the right-side rail. The ticket office is straight ahead as you enter. There are soft seats in this area, and the desk has a lowered counter and a hearing loop, which staff confirmed was working. To the right is a small waiting area. The door here opens inwards and is activated by a touchpad on the left. There is a short ramp, several seats with armrests, and the first of two accessible toilets is on the left. The lift up to the walkway is at the back of this room. The lift to the footbridge is small but can comfortably fit a power chair or manual wheelchair with a few other people. It has braille buttons, a perimeter rail, and a low-placed alarm. The lift down to Platform 2 is the same. The footbridge is easy to navigate, with no real bumps or challenges. The stairs to the walkway and platforms have tactile paving at the top and bottom, clear markings for level changes, and three grab rails—one on either side and one in the middle. On the platforms, there are plenty of benches. Most of the platforms are undercover, with some exposed areas. British Sign Language departure boards are overhead, and seating and waiting areas are available. Hearing loops are active on the platforms. All platforms have tactile paving at the edges and clear yellow markings. Every door I saw had braille markings, even staff-only doors, which felt very inclusive. There are vending machines on the platforms. My favourite feature was the tactile map to the left of the station entrance. There is a Costa coffee to the left of the main entrance, but it was far too busy for me to get in to gather access information. You can either take the door after the main entrance, or access the Costa through the foyer.

Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals

Parking & Transport

Good

I travelled to this place by personal vehicle

The car park has five accessible parking spaces, four of which have hatch markings on either side, and 124 standard parking bays. Free parking is available for blue badge holders, though I saw a few people park in the standard spaces using them. There is a drop-off point at the entrance, where I saw some taxis. I did not notice a dedicated accessible taxi rank, but that does not mean there isn’t one. The station has its own bus stop, where you'll find the 60, 67, 253, 477, X15 and X18 services in operation.

Accessible facilities: Drop-off or pick up point, Dedicated on-site parking

Accessible Toilets

Average

There is a small accessible toilet near the waiting room, to the right as you enter the station. The toilet is very small. The door opens outwards and is activated by a touchpad. Inside, you can lock the door using the touchpad. The space is tighter than usual, which was the first thing I noticed. There is room for a manual or power chair, but a second person may find it cramped. The placement of the bins in the transfer space makes them almost unusable, which is unfortunate. The toilet has a contrasting seat and grab rails on either side. The red cord hangs to the right when seated. There are also contrasting grab rails on either side of the small sink, which has a lever-style mixer tap. There is a baby change in the room and a hand dryer on the rear wall next to the mirror. On Platform 1, there is a small waiting area, which appears to be marked for First Class customers. The second accessible toilet can be found here. The door to this toilet opens outwards and does not require a RADAR key. The toilet pan has contrasting blue rails on either side and a soft backrest. There is a left-side transfer space, though there are bins in the space. They are not obstructive. The red cord hangs to the left and was not tied up. The sink has a small basin, and the tap has a long lever. Contrasting rails are installed on either side. There is no mirror. A hand dryer is on the wall to the right, paper towels are nearby, and there is a baby change in the loo.

Facilities: Accessible toilet

Staff

Excellent

The staff were very pleasant, particularly Michelle, the station manager. It was great to see her commitment to improving the station for disabled visitors.