On Wednesday, 29th April, as part of International Guide Dog Day, Basingstoke station was host to some Guide Dog puppies and their handlers.

The Guide Dog day was a continuation of South Western Railway’s partnership in helping future guide dogs build confidence, and their owners to travel by train independently. Last year, 315,000 assisted journeys were made on South Western Railway trains.

During their visit, the puppies were introduced to the sights and sounds of a railway environment and learned how to find their way around the station. The puppies’ time at Basingstoke was part of training them to become life-changing companions for people with sight loss.

Among the tasks completed by the puppies were learning how to move through a ticket gate safely, navigate platforms, find the platform edge, board and alight trains, and use the lifts. These are some of the different experiences and environments which will help their future owners to travel independently and with confidence.

As well as hosting sessions at Basingstoke, South Western Railway holds regular sessions for puppies and their raisers at Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth & Southsea stations.

Assistance dogs can travel free of charge on all South Western Railway services, free-of-charge, but not on the seats. During the journey, dogs should travel either beside their handlers or underneath the seats.

In 2024, Avanti West Coast entered a partnership with the Guide Dogs charity, and staff at Ely station in Cambridgeshire held a series of events to raise funds for a guide dog puppy in memory of a train driver who had passed away.

Complimentary cards, which alert other customers to a dog’s presence under a seat, are available on South Western Railway’s website. They are designed to give their owners peace of mind while travelling and can be personalised with the dog’s name and photograph.

“It’s always a joy to welcome Guide Dogs, their puppies and their volunteer raisers to our stations as part of our commitment to helping all customers travel independently and with confidence. These sessions are a small but vital part of the puppies’ preparation to become life-changing companions for people with sight loss. Our colleagues assisted 315,000 journeys in the last year and are on hand to help customers, whether they pre-book or simply turn up and go.”

Michael Adlington, Accessibility and Inclusion Lead at South Western Railway

“Our puppies are looked after in the homes of our amazing volunteer puppy raisers for 12-16 months until the pups are ready to start their formal training to be guide dogs. A big part of this is socialisation and getting the puppies used to different environments, so visiting Basingstoke station was great experience for them. All the pups did brilliantly, helping them build positive associations that they’ll remember if they visit a railway station as working guide dogs.”

Georgina Wingham, a Puppy Development Advisor for Guide Dogs