The impressive Artificial Intelligence technology will support passengers who are deaf or have hearing loss as they find it hard to hear station announcements and communicate with staff, creating a great deal of difficulty and stress when planning journeys or travelling by train.
South Western Railway is testing the innovative technology to translate live journey information into British Sign Language which is then displayed via a friendly figure on digital totem screens and will go some way to making train travel more inclusive.
A partnership between Britain's busiest station – London Waterloo Station and Inform Media by LB Foster has seen the project come to fruition and will offer accessible travel details to customers who use British Sign Language, providing displayed information in their first language and supporting confidence in travelling by rail.
The trial will be evaluated over a 6 month period with the hope of rolling out the cutting-edge technology throughout the entire South Western Railway network. This trial represents just one of a selection of impressive innovations which are being considered by the rail operator as they attempt to improve customer experience.
Peter Williams, SWR's Customer and Commercial Director said: “We are excited to launch the trial of this innovative technology, which has the potential to transform accessibility at Britain's busiest station. We will watch this trial with great interest and if all goes well, we hope we can roll it out across our network.”
Huw Merriman, Rail Minister, said: “Everyone should be able to travel on our railways with confidence and ease and trials like this are essential in making that a reality.”
“Accessibility is a top priority for this Government, and new technologies and projects like this will make a real difference for passengers.”
Emma Boswell, who is a member of SWR's Inclusivity and Accessibility Forum and a BSL user, said: “This is a breakthrough for the Deaf and Deafblind communities, making travel more accessible and enjoyable with BSL announcements on totems around SWR stations.”
Teri Devine, Director for Inclusion at deaf and hearing loss charity RNID, said: “Public transport can present many barriers for deaf people and people with hearing loss, with live information such as platform changes often communicated over a speaker system.
“We are excited by this new initiative at London Waterloo station to make travelling by train more accessible to deaf people who use BSL, and we hope this trial will encourage the public to be more deaf-aware during their journeys”
