Great Western Railway (GWR) has been awarded the NationalAutistic Society’s Autism Friendly Award

Samantha Fletcher

Great Western Railway (GWR) has been awarded the NationalAutistic Society’s Autism Friendly Award — the first time a UK rail operator has gained the award for its entire network, not just a single line.

To earn the award, GWR rolled out a suite of autism-friendlytools and services across its network, including: a “soundbite” series tofamiliarise travellers with common train and station noises; virtual videotours of stations so passengers can plan and visualise their journey inadvance; sensory packs to help manage overstimulation; ear defenders at staffedstations; and an expanded “Try a Train” programme to help build confidence forthose who may find rail travel challenging.

The award was hailed by representatives of GWR, includingits Accessibility Mentor, who emphasised that this recognition reflects along-term commitment to making rail travel more inclusive for autisticpassengers — and highlighted that achieving network-wide accreditation was onlypossible through cross-departmental collaboration.

For many autistic people and their families, such changescan make a real difference: the award gives reassurance that rail travel shouldnow be more predictable, comfortable and supportive. The National AutisticSociety said GWR’s example shows how relatively small adjustments cansignificantly improve accessibility and recommended that other businessesfollow suit.

https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/gwr-network-achieves-autism-friendly-award