Train firm offers disabled passengers assistance booking system using voice commands

Virgin Trains customers using intercity services which run through Wigan North Western can request help getting on and off trains and reserve wheelchair spaces with Alexa-enabled devices.

Other news: Wigan man charged after reports of homeless man being abusedThe JourneyCare service for people with special requirements could previously only be booked by completing an online form or calling a helpline after train tickets were bought.

Alexa - a virtual assistant developed by Amazon - will speed up the process by letting passengers request assistance using voice commands immediately after purchasing tickets.

In May 2018 Virgin became the first travel company in the world to sell train tickets through Alexa.

Chris Tomson, who has brittle bone disease and uses a wheelchair, took part in a trial of the process.

The 28-year-old said it does a “great job” of combining booking tickets with requesting assistance, adding: “It also comes in handy if I have any pain in my arms and I am unable to use a computer, phone or tablet to book my journey.”

Virgin Trains claims using its Alexa app - also known as a skill - halves the time it takes to request assistance.

Stephen Brookes, a campaigner for disabled passengers, said: “Those who are comfortable with and can access technology will find the system quick and efficient. But it doesn’t mean that those who cannot access or use new technology will miss out, as the staff involved in phone booking will be more freed up.”

Toby Radcliffe, customer proposition director at Virgin Trains, said: “We want to ensure train travel is accessible to as many people as possible and this is a further innovation in that direction.”

Analysis by charity Leonard Cheshire last November found that more than 1,000 railway stations in Britain cannot be used by some disabled passengers as they do not have full step-free access.

Disabled comedian Tanyalee Davis made headlines last year when she was forced to move her mobility scooter from a disabled space on a Great Western Railway train.

She was reduced to tears when a guard made her move so a woman could put her pram in the wheelchair area.