Network Rail came to us wanting to improve its facilities and services for disabled and older passengers.
Since then, members from our pan-disability consumer panel have made more than 700 'mystery shopper' journeys through these stations, giving feedback to improve the experience for disabled people.
The work is ongoing, but it has already informed a number of changes in these stations, including special attention given to London's 'busiest station' - Euston.
In this new podcast series we shine a light on the different clients we have worked with, and explore their journey in accessibility alongside them.
In this first episode, Dr Phil Friend, our podcast host, speaks to Natasha Marasay, Network Rail's Accessibility and Integration Manager Strategy and Policy Lead, alongside our Associate Director of Research, Catherine Cashman, who leads this project for RiDC.
In this conversation, we find out what motivated Network Rail to assess the accessibility of their stations, explore the insights they gained and how they are now shaping the day to day service they provide.
Listen to find out:
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How Cath and her team went about designing research that met the client's needs and safeguarded participants
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What station managers found most surprising
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Why it's so hard to make accessibility consistent across the rail network
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What benefits has this research given, both to Network Rail, and to disabled and older users of the railway
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What can other rail providers learn from this
Read the transcript in a Word document here
