Train Travel Training for Five Acre Wood Snodland Students - Visit to Snodland Station
On a damp Wednesday morning, we welcomed 12 students from Five Acre Wood to Snodland station to build on their earlier classroom session to build students’ confidence to travel independently by rail.
Working with Southeastern station manager Shane Monaghan and Hannah from the ticket office, we began a tour of the station to look at accessibility features, journey planning facilities and where to find help.
On arrival it was clear that the students had remembered important information form our earlier classroom session. They knew that they should not travel without a valid ticket for their journey and that they should always keep off the tracks.
Snodland station has a dedicated bus interchange, short-stay pick-up/drop-off bays and car parking for drivers, sheltered cycle parking and ramped access to the ticket office. There is signing on how to reach the platforms, with direct access to platform one, a footbridge to platform two, with a level access route via the level crossing immediately outside the station.
Drop kerbs, implied zebra crossings, tactile paving features and contrasting colours at the edge of stairs and steps help to guide people with visual impairments and make the station environment safer for everyone.
We concluded that the station is easy to reach by a variety of travel modes and the platforms are accessible to all users.
Students were shown the departure screens both inside and outside the building, displaying information on current services, delays, issues with onboard toilets, and the platform for departures. We heard tannoy messages relating to the next trains to call at the station and where they were heading, and received our own personalised “welcome to students from Five Acre Wood school” announcement.
On the platform we looked at the matrix displays confirming times for the next services and the stations trains would stop at. We saw the Help Points that can connect you remotely to staff, who can answer questions about your travel. We saw the ramps that can be used to help people who use wheelchairs to board safely, they can also be deployed to help people with buggies and pushchairs, heavy luggage, or people who just feel a little unsteady on their feet.
As well as information, we considered safety. Waiting rooms and platform canopies provide shelter from the weather, walking and not running around the station reduces the chance of slips, trips and falls, keeping behind the tactile yellow line at the platform’s edge ensures you are safely away from moving trains while you wait for your own one to arrive.
Students’ raised concerns over inadvertently boarding the wrong train. Our advice was to check the departure screens on arrival to determine the platform and time of your train, and then check platform signs and matrix screens to make sure you are in the right place and getting on the right train. Always seek help from staff if you are unsure, and if somehow you do make a mistake and get on the wrong train, find the onboard conductor or train manager to help and advise you.
It is Southeastern’s people who can help the most. Hannah at the ticket office, onboard conductors, and other Southeastern staff are there to help you plan journeys, book assisted travel, guide you to the right platform and find the cheapest ticket deals. A ticket vending machine can sell you a ticket, it cannot help you choose the best route, quietest time to travel or book any assistance.
Southeastern staff are trained to recognise Sunflower Lanyards and JAM cards. Not every student feels happy to wear a lanyard or carry a JAM card. If you aren’t happy using these but would like a little extra help or more time to understand, please ask staff when you are speaking with them.
Our station visit brought the classroom learning to life, great preparation for our train trip to Strood next month.
