South Western Railway are launching a new way to ask for assistance when travelling on its network, for those who have difficulty in communicating.

Called the Travel Assistance Card, it's designed to help customers who have difficulty in communicating to have a much smoother experience when travelling with South Western Railway.

Accessibility and Inclusion Manager, Michael Adlington said: "Travelling by train can be challenging for some people with learning disabilities or conditions such as autism, or are stroke victims and find they aren't comfortable or confident with verbal communication. Indeed, this can be so much of an issue, for some, it can sometimes discourage travelling at all.

"We're delighted to be launching our new Travel Assistance Card which is designed to overcome these obstacles and make it much easier for people to ask for assistance when at our stations and on our trains."

Details on the card which can be shown to staff are the name of the holder; an emergency contact number; the stations usually travelled from and to; and a free text field for the card holder to either write or draw what assistance they may require. The card can be downloaded from the South Western Railway website for immediate use and is also available at every staffed South Western Railway station, plus Southern and Great Western Railway stations served by our trains.

The card has been developed in association with South Western Railway's Accessibility Forum members, all of whom have some form of disability themselves.