Connecting the North
3
3
Date of visit: November 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment and moving around.
I use or have experience of: hidden impairment, powerchair, walking aid, wheelchair
Overall Rating
Average
I have travelled on Northern trains a good few times now, sometimes just for a couple of stops, other times for longer distances up to an hour. I will be drawing on all of my different experiences for this review and am including photos from two separate train journeys. I have never had any major problems and always was helped by staff to access a wheelchair space, both when booking assistance in advance and when travelling spontaneously. (The spontaneous travel was only ever for one or a couple of stops, though.) It does not really matter when you are not going far and the trains differ in design, but it is not always as comfortable as compared to trains I have been on that are designed for longer journeys. There might not be a table or socket nearby or a companion seat next to or facing the wheelchair space.
Disabled Access In and Around
Average
None of the trains I have been on have level access, so you need someone to put out a ramp for you. There is usually a ramp kept on the train, so train staff can get it even when there is no station staff. There are bright yellow vertical hand rails on the sides of the doors and sometimes on the walls of walkways within the train. The doors open and closed buttons have bright yellow rings around them and the arrows on them are raised. You might have to navigate through a narrow section to pass the toilet to get from the door to the wheelchair space or pass between dividers. While I have never had any issues with my powered wheelchair, I talked to some other passengers who told me that they had to get a sticker for their mobility scooter to show that it could go on the train. You can find more information on which scooters are eligible and how to get your permit here: https://help.northernrailway.co.uk/s/article/Can-I-take-my-mobility-scooter-on-the-train
Accessible facilities: Single-level venue, Seating at regular intervals
Accessible Toilets
Average
Even the accessible toilets are still train toilets and come with space restrictions, but I will describe the features and layout of one of them. (They might look slightly different depending on which train you are on.) There is a curved sliding door with man, woman, changing table and wheelchair symbols. There is a bright yellow button to the left of the door to operate it. As you enter, the interface to close and lock the door is on the wall to your left. The buttons have a bright yellow frame with black writing and Braille on the bottom. The buttons have raised arrow symbols and the relevant button lights up. The button on the left is to open and the button on the right is to close. When the lever is in the position to the left, the door is unlocked. To lock it, move the lever to the right. Continuing along the wall on the left, there is a red emergency call button halfway up the wall, two coat hooks at different heights and a full-length mirror. The sink is set into the back left corner of the small bathroom. There are white on blue labels on the wall above with arrows pointing down letting you know where the soap, water, dryer and tissue are. There are also symbols and Braille at the bottom of the sign. There are two short vertical handrails on either side and a horizontal one along the bottom. The toilet is in the back right corner, opposite the sink. There is space for a right-side transfer. There is a moveable horizontal handrail to the left of the toilet. The handrails and toilet seat are blue, so they contrast with the white walls. The flush is a button on the wall in the transfer space. There is a bin set into the wall of the transfer space. There is a red emergency call button on the wall to the right of the door at floor height. The baby change is set into the wall above the bin and can be folded down when needed.
Facilities: Accessible toilet
Staff
Good
I have mostly found the staff to be friendly and helpful. Most of them made an effort to reassure me that they are more than happy to help.
