Railway stations across Wales are set to benefit from a £1 million investment introducing brand new Help Points at 48 different locations, giving passengers access to live travel support and real-time information.
Designed to give customers confidence, particularly during times of disruption, the Help Points will connect callers directly to Customer Information Controllers based in Wales.
Located on station platforms or concourses, Help Points work at the press of a button and can be used for a range of purposes, from checking train times to requesting assistance or reporting an issue, and most Customer Information Controllers speak Welsh.
The rollout will focus on unstaffed stations, locations with less frequent train services and areas where mobile network signal (4G and 5G) is limited.
Teleri Evans, Customer Information Manager at Transport for Wales who developed the Help Point Strategy, said: “We want customers to feel safe, confident and connected when out on our network.
“While there are a number of ways to find out what’s going on including our website, customer information channels and the information screens we operate at every station, we know we need to do more.
“There’s nothing worse than being at a station and not knowing what’s going on during disruption. So, we’re committing to installing these Help Points, starting with those stations with limited phone signal and ones that previously had BT payphones.”
In addition to expanding the Help Point network, the project will also see five stations in north Wales have their Help Points replaced, ensuring bilingual assistance is available across the entire network.
Transport for Wales manages 248 stations across Wales and the Borders, but currently fewer than half have Help Points installed.
Project Manager Adam Zak said: “Installing new help points is a large undertaking and we are working hard with our partners in Network Rail to ensure the project can go ahead smoothly. We expect to get some dates confirmed in the next few months and to begin the work this financial year.”
