The new mobile assistance team is part of a trial to support disabled passengers and other customers at Beckenham Hill, Crofton Park and Ravensbourne stations.
The team will be available for support at the three stations every day including weekends, for every service running. Previous to this, Thameslink could only offer assistance when ticket offices were staffed which covered just weekday mornings and early afternoons.
The initiative forms part of plans that Thameslink and parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) announced last year which aim to provide all passengers with the confidence to travel whatever their access needs or support requirements are.
Thameslink's Accessibility Lead Carl Martin said: “We're constantly looking for ways to improve the level of service we give people who need assistance, to overcome the barriers that prevent independent travel on the railway.
“The new mobile assistance team is very much a trial and we want to seek feedback from the people who actually use it.
“I really think this new service could transform the lives of many of our customers. It will help us create a more accessible and inclusive railway, where everyone has the confidence to travel with us.”
The facility is for anyone needing assistance to negotiate a station or board a train, the service could benefit elderly people with luggage, someone who is visually impaired, or where platforms are step-free a ramp board can be put in place to allow access to the train for wheelchair or mobility scooter users.
To request assistance, customers need to get in touch with Thameslink's control centre from either a station help point, using the ‘emergency and assisted travel button', calling freephone 0808 168 1238 or texting 07970 511077.
The mobile assistance team are located at Beckenham Hill and drive to Crofton Park or Ravensbourne stations and usually arrive within 20 minutes in order to help the customer board their train, the team will also notify the destination station for the passenger. For the return journey, the team will be there to greet the customer off of their train.
Kay Pallaris from Crofton Park Railway Garden user group said: “This is really good news. I know that a friend of mine who is a wheelchair user has had to cancel visiting us in the past because he couldn't get assistance at Crofton Park station.”
