Greater Anglia has launched an online virtual tour of one of its stations as the operator continues to help passengers travel with confidence.
Witham Station has become the 18th Greater Anglia station to be given the virtual treatment, along with the operator’s entire new fleet, in a campaign to reduce the anxiety of passengers before they travel.
The virtual tours of Greater Anglia’s stations and trains are particularly beneficial to disabled passengers, who can identify accessible routes before they travel.
Greater Anglia’s Accessibility and Inclusion Manager, Rebecca Richardson, said: “The idea was to create a tool for customers to assist them with their journey planning and reduce the anxiety about whether the station would create any accessibility barriers, so that they can travel with confidence.
“We are committed to making rail more accessible and providing quality information to enable more informed journey planning.”
The virtual tours offer a preview of all public areas, including ticket machines, platforms, neighbouring bus stops and taxi ranks.
Detailed 360-degree photography allows users to navigate the station realistically, while aerial photography and an interactive map show the location of all the facilities in relation to one another.
The project has been supported by Greater Anglia’s Accessibility Panel, a group of disabled customers who meet regularly with the operator.
Current options on the virtual tours enable the user to high contrast large font size and audio transcription. Future developments may also incorporate British Sign Language videos.
Image credit: Greater Anglia
