Assisted Travel

Whether you are travelling with a pram, young children, have limited mobility or just need a little bit of help in using our services we aim to provide the information you need to use our network with confidence.

Our journey planner will help you understand our timetable, plan your journey and can be found here.

Our station accessibility map below will show you which of our stations have step free access  and the average step you will need to make to get on to the train at each of our stations. This will help you to decide whether or not you require assistance making your journey.

Should temporary issues arise which significantly impact on the accessibility of any of our stations or your journey with us we will update our website within 24 hours. This information is viewable by selecting the station you are travelling from or to on our interactive accessibility map or visiting our stations accessibility page.

If we have your contact details because you have booked a journey and will be affected, we will endeavour to contact you by telephone or email to advise you of temporary issues. Where possible this will be at least 24 hours in advance of your journey or as soon as is possible dependent on the circumstances.

We will contact you;

• Where stations have a physical constraint preventing use by some disabled people
• Where significant temporary work affects station accessibility
• Where changes to stations make them temporarily inaccessible (e.g. all lifts or all station toilets out of order);
• Where changes to train facilities materially affect disabled passengers – e.g. the temporary use of inaccessible trains and emergency engineering work.
• As we do not sell tickets online we don't currently offer the ability to buy a ticket as part of your Passenger Assist booking. You can buy a ticket by visiting one of our station ticket offices and calling us to arrange your Passenger Assist separately.

If you haven’t travelled with us before, or even if you have and are going to a new part of our network, you may have questions about your journey. The fastest way to get advice is to use our Twitter service (@merseyrail). The team are available 06:00 – 23:30 Mon to Sat & 10:00 - 18:00 Sun.

Alternatively you can contact us here using our handy webform and a member of our friendly customer relations team will get back to you.

Getting in touch and telling us your needs in advance can help us make sure we have arrangements ready for your journey. Both our trains and our stations can be busy at times, so where you can please let us know at least one hour in advance. We will make sure that staff are ready for you when you arrive to begin your journey.

You can request passenger assist by telephoning 0800 0277 347 (Freephone) or 0151 555 1111. We will then contact you directly to confirm the arrangements.

Please note the number above is only available between 7am and 7pm Monday  to Friday, if you need to book outside of these times please call 0151 702 2704

Alternatively, you can use the Passenger Assistance app, available to download for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Unbooked Assistance - travelling from a staffed Merseyrail station to a staffed Merseyrail station.

We know that modern life is busy and often customers need to travel at short notice or don’t have an opportunity to book their journey in advance.

At the vast majority of our stations we have staff located in our booking offices that will be able to help. Just approach them and let them know you need their assistance and they will do their best to make sure you get on the next available service and will also be able to answer any other questions you may have.

Our team will also let the station you are travelling to know that you are on your way so that staff at that station can be ready to meet you when you arrive.

During busy times please be aware that services and stations can be busy and you should always allow extra time in case the train you want to catch is busy and you need to wait for the next one.

Unbooked Assistance - travelling from an unstaffed Merseyrail station to a Merseyrail station.

We have four stations on our network that do not have booking offices and are unstaffed. These are;

Overpool, Little Sutton, Bache and Capenhurst

We also have one station that is open from start of service till 2 pm each day;

Ellesmere Port

If you arrive at one of these stations and require assistance to travel you should press the button on the help point located on each platform. Our control room team will arrange for you to receive the help you need. At Ellesmere Port station, when the booking office is closed, please follow the above procedure. You should allow extra time when travelling from these stations as staff may need to travel from another station to assist you or arrange for alternative transport to the next staffed station.

Unbooked Assistance - travelling from a Merseyrail station to a station outside of the Merseyrail network.

We work with Network Rail and the other UK Train Operating Companies to help customers that need assistance to plan their journey to any UK rail station to or from stations on our network.

In these circumstances, we would always advise that customers who need assistance request it in advance as described above, so that we can better plan with the other companies involved and make sure everything is arranged for your journey.

If your journey is starting off the Merseyrail network, the customer should contact the relevant train operating company, who is responsible for your journey and they will make the arrangements or by contacting National Rail Enquires here.

If you have any questions or need help whilst on the train, our team of guards are here to help. They regularly carry out ticket inspections on board our services, so will be available at points on your journey to answer your questions or provide any information you may need.

Don’t forget that our social media team (@merseyrail) are also available to help via your mobile device. The team are available 06:00 – 23:30 Mon to Sat & 10:00 - 18:00 Sun and will usually respond within a few minutes.

When you reach your destination on the Merseyrail network, a member of our team will be there to meet you and make sure you get the help you need, if you can’t find them please speak to the guard who will help or press the Help Point call button located on every platform. 

We aim to provide the assistance our customers need in a seamless way, to help us keep improving what we do, it is important to us that customers tell us what they think of the service we gave to them.

Where things have gone to plan, we do make sure that colleagues who have provided excellent service are recognised and all praise is passed onto the member of the team involved and their manager.

Where things haven’t gone to plan, we want to know so that we can fully investigate and where needed make things right by fixing the problem.

Either way the best the fastest way to give feedback is to use our Twitter service (@merseyrail). The team are available 06:00 – 23:30 Mon to Sat & 10:00 - 18:00 Sun.

Alternatively you can contact us here using our handy webform and a member of our friendly customer relations team will get back to you.

In the unlikely event that assistance has been booked but has not been delivered, we will provide you with compensation for your journey. In cases where assistance on the Merseyrail network is not provided, we will offer you a full refund for the cost of the journey. This will also apply for customers who chose to turn up and travel and do not receive assistance at the destination station by a member of Merseyrail staff.

This also includes assistance provided by our staff or staff of other train companies where you were travelling on or due to travel on one of our services. We will be happy to assist you with your claim and we will provide details of the claim process in our ‘Making Rail Accessible - Helping Older and Disabled Passengers’ leaflet and on the following link.

We will coordinate a response to your complaint, should you have travelled with more than one operator during your journey. We will provide you with a full explanation in response, including why it happened and what mitigating actions we intend to take as a result.

We are able to provide a range of support to you depending on your needs. This may include:

• Laying down ramps to enable you to get on or off any of our services
• Guide you to the train
• Provide information about station facilities including accessible toilets
• Support you in carrying luggage within the station boundaries

The support we can provide is not limited to the points above please contact us in advance to discuss any questions you may have about your specific needs.

A copy of our Accessible Travel Policy can be obtained from our customer relations team and is available online as a PDF here. The policy is designed in a way that means it is accessible using screen readers or other software with accessibility features (e.g. Adobe Reader). Alternative formats of our policy including audio book and larger print are available on request without charge. Please contact our assisted travel team if you require one of these formats.

Disabled Persons Railcard

We support the Disabled Persons Railcard, which offers you and an adult companion travelling with you, up to a third off most rail fares in Great Britain.

The Railcards are currently available as twelve month or three-year cards, so you can choose one that most suits your needs. The Disabled Persons Railcard scheme is managed by the Rail Delivery Group.

If you are eligible, you can apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard by filling in an application form which can be obtained from Merseyrail ticket offices, downloaded online or obtained by phone. You will need to show proof of disability when applying for the Railcard.

Please note there are no time restrictions on when tickets can be bought for when using this railcard.

The Disabled Persons Railcard website has a full list of proofs of eligibility or you can contact the Disabled Persons Railcard team for help with your application and further advice. Please note it is not possible to purchase the Disabled Persons Railcard over the ticket-office counter. The Disabled Persons Railcard Office contact details are:

Helpline: 0345 605 0525

Textphone: 03456040132

Website: www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk

Discounts for visually impaired customers

If you are a visually-impaired person travelling with a companion and you do not hold a railcard, the following discounts will apply on tickets purchased from ticket offices ;

• First/Standard Anytime Single or Return – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Single – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Return – 50% off

No concession applies if you are travelling alone and you do not hold a railcard. To obtain these discounts, a document confirming your disability, issued by a recognised institution (for example, Social Services Department, Local Authority, Guide Dog Ownership certificate, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) or Blind Veterans UK) is required. This evidence must be provided at the time you buy your ticket.

It is also possible that you can be issued with one adult season ticket to cover two persons; with the two travelling for the price of one. In this case, a different companion may travel with you on different days. Please speak to colleagues in our customer relation team if you need any further assistance.

Discounts for customers who use wheelchairs

If you remain in your wheelchair for a rail journey and you do not hold a railcard, you will be given the following discounts on anytime/day tickets:

• First/Standard Anytime Single or Return – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Single – 34% off
• First/Standard Anytime Day Return – 50% off

The same discount will apply if you have one companion.

Senior railcard

If you are 60 years old or over you can buy a Senior Railcard which offers up to a third off most rail fares throughout the rail network in Great Britain. Certain restrictions apply on some rail networks during the morning peak periods.

The Senior Railcard is valid for 12 months or three years and you can choose the time period which suits your circumstances. Please note that time restrictions do apply please see the website below for up to date details.

More information is available from;

Senior Railcard Office Website: www.senior-railcard.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

Call: 0345 300 0250

There may be other Railcards that may be suitable for you. Please visit railcard.co.uk for further information.

Merseytravel Concessionary Travel Pass

We also accept the Merseytravel Concessionary Pass for disabled people and older people which allows free travel on the Merseyrail’s Northern and Wirral Line services.

If you need any more information please contact Merseytravel directly by visiting www.merseytravel.gov.uk/Tickets/concessions or telephone 0151 330 1000.