Travelling with Confidence - 2026
Community Rail Network’s Travelling with Confidence project, grant-funded by the Motability Foundation, empowers hundreds of disabled people to develop their confidence, skills and resilience when planning and making trips by rail and connected modes.
Kent CRP is one of several community rail partnerships that have received small grants as part of the programme.
For 2026 Stuart Langridge, a Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Project Officer is leading our work with local colleges to co-produce initiatives and empower disabled people to overcome travel barriers; Therese and Gary are supporting delivery.
Following classroom sessions held in July, Stuart invited students and tutors from each school for a tour of their local station.
The aim was to familiarise students with the sights and sounds of stations, to bring the classroom learning to life. The tours looked at accessibility features, journey planning facilities and where to find help.
On arrival it was clear that the students had remembered important information form the earlier classroom sessions. They knew that they should not travel without a valid ticket for their journey and that they should always keep off the tracks.
Each school visited a different station. Rainham, Sittingbourne, Canterbury East and Rochester. Students noted locations for bus interchange, short-stay pick-up/drop-off bays and car parking for drivers, sheltered cycle parking and walking and wheeling routes.
Signage in and around the stations showed how to reach the platforms. Rainham has level access to platforms 0 and 1 directly from the booking hall and to platform 2 via the level crossing immediately outside the station. At the other stations lifts connected to overbridges or underpasses provided accessible routes to all platforms.
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.
The students could see that each 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 the booking halls and on the platforms, 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.
The platforms were busy and bustling, we looked for places we could stand safely, behind the yellow line and well away from the platform edge.
We saw the matrix displays confirming times for the next services and the stations trains would stop at on their journey, and Help Points that can connect you remotely to staff, who can answer questions about your travel.
A recent addition to Help Points is a QR code to connect with support teams via WhatsApp, great for people who are non-verbal or simply prefer that style of communication. We also saw the ramps that are used to help people who use wheelchairs to board safely. The same ramps can also be deployed to help people with buggies and pushchairs, heavy luggage, or those 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.
We talked about Southeastern’s people, the staff at the stations and on trains. Ticket office staff, onboard conductors, ticket inspectors and everybody else on the Southeastern team 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, just ask staff when you are speaking with them.
Our station visits brought the classroom learning to life, great preparation for our “Try A Train” trips next month.
