Sign language plan for announcements on board Northern trains

Rail operator Northern says it wants to make announcements on board its trains in sign language to aid deaf passengers or those with hearing impairments.

Trains between Manchester Victoria and Leeds have been pencilled in for a future trial of the scheme.

Northern said announcements on services would be interpreted into British Sign Language (BSL) on some of its services through 'visuals'. Census data in 2021, bosses added, showed that in addition to spoken languages, BSL was the main language of some 22,000 people.

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It comes after a screen displaying travel information for commuters in British Sign Language went live in April at Manchester's Piccadilly railway station.

Network Rail bosses said they hoped the new feature would give deaf passengers and those with acute hearing difficulties added confidence to travel through stations and on board trains.

Marc Silverwood, onboard systems manager at Northern, said: "We know that rail travel can be daunting for anyone with specific needs, and I really hope this makes a difference to give people confidence to travel by rail.

"International Day of Sign Languages, which will take place on September 23, has really driven this home to us – we want to make a difference to our customers and provide for them as needed."

Northern says its now looking for partners - charities, organisations or experts who could help provide sign language interpreters for the project. It's understood screens would be positioned above seats on certain services, with signers filmed signing station or stop announcements.

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