A free spoken guide to Sutton station for blind and partially sighted passengers is online now. Guided station walks run on 15 October; book by the 13th.

Sutton station now has its own audio guide for blind and partially sighted passengers. It is a free recording that talks you through the station’s layout, facilities and main navigation points before you travel.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs Southern and Thameslink, published it on 23 September (GTR press release). Sutton is one of only six stations to get one. The others are:

  • Brighton
  • Eastbourne
  • London Blackfriars
  • Stevenage
  • Luton Airport Parkway

The guides were written by volunteers from the Sight Loss Councils, which are run by the national sight loss charity Thomas Pocklington Trust, working with GTR’s accessibility managers. GTR paid for the project through its Your Station, Your Community fund (GTR).

Where to find it

The Sutton recording is an MP3 file you can play straight from Southern’s website. It is also linked from the “Support whilst you’re travelling” pages on the Southern and Thameslink sites.

Both operators serve Sutton, so the station matters for a lot of journeys. GTR has also written audio guides to the inside of Thameslink’s trains and most of Southern’s fleet. That covers the trains most Sutton passengers board, whichever way they head into London (GTR).

A guided walk at the station on 15 October

London Sight Loss Councils and GTR are running a “Coffee, Chat, and Navigation” event at Sutton station on Thursday 15 October (Sight Loss Councils event page). It is free, and there are two sessions:

Session Time Arrive from
Morning 10:30am to 12:30pm 10:15am
Afternoon 1:30pm to 3:30pm 1:15pm

The meeting point is the main entrance on the High Street, SM1 1JA. Places are limited and go on a first-come, first-served basis. Booking closes at 5pm on Tuesday 13 October.

The organisers say people can:

  • listen to the station audio guide and the onboard train guides
  • take a guided walk around key parts of the station
  • try the Aira navigation app, which GTR pays for blind and partially sighted passengers to use free at its stations
  • tell GTR what works at Sutton and what gets in the way

The event page has separate booking links for the morning session and the afternoon session. If you bring a guide or companion, book a place for them too. Questions go to info@sightlosscouncils.org.uk.

Dave Smith, Sight Loss Council Engagement Manager for South East England at Thomas Pocklington Trust, said blind and partially sighted people “rely heavily on public transport to access work, and medical and social appointments”, and that the guides “will make rail travel so much easier” (GTR).

What it means for you

  • If you are blind or partially sighted, you can now hear how Sutton station is laid out before you set off, rather than working it out on the day.
  • If you want to try it with people on hand, book one of the 15 October sessions before 5pm on 13 October.
  • If you help a relative or neighbour travel, the MP3 is a quick way to prepare a journey together. Book a companion place if you go to the event with them.
  • If you have feedback on the station, the event is a direct line to the people at GTR who work on accessibility.

For train times, fares and the station car park, see our guide to Sutton trains to London. For current engineering works and road closures, see Sutton roadworks and travel.

Sources