The new lounge, which is adjacent to the taxi rank on the upper deck at London Paddington has opened, providing passengers who use the assistance programme with accessible wheelchair spaces, reduced mobility seating and a customer information screen.
(c) Network Rail
Paddington station already has an assistance facility, but it’s on the other side of the station next to platform 1. The new lounge supports people coming in from the taxi rank or that side of the station.
The Assisted Travel Lounge (ATL) is being operated by Network Rail’s Passenger Assistance team, who will have a customer ambassador on hand to help any passengers requiring the use of the facility. It will be open from 8am until 8pm on weekdays, and from 10am until 6pm on weekends. When the waiting room is not staffed, there is a Help Point located on the taxi rank area adjacent to the ATL that connects passengers directly to the Network Rail reception on platform 1 for assistance.
Passengers using the new lounge can now use the mobility buggy to take them directly to their platform when their train arrives, cutting out the additional journey to the reception on platform 1.
Susan Evans, Network Rail’s head of passenger strategy for Western route, said: “It’s key for Network Rail to put passengers first by providing a first-class service to everyone who uses our stations and the railway as a whole.
“Travelling through a busy station can be challenging for those with additional needs but the new assisted travel lounge provides a safe and friendly space to wait for trains and onward connections and to get assistance from a dedicated team when needed.”
Passengers arriving at Paddington station by vehicle can access the new lounge from Bishop’s Bridge Road, where they can be dropped off picked up. Pedestrian access is either via the canal or from the main station footbridge and up the escalators adjacent to platform 12.
London Underground passengers are also able to access the lounge from the Hammersmith and City platforms.
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