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Planning a trip

Whether you’re travelling for business or pleasure, here’s how to plan a smooth, stress-free journey 

For journey planning, ticket sales, real-time information and fares information please visit the National Rail Enquiries website. This is the definitive source of customer information for all passenger rail services on the national rail network in England, Wales and Scotland.

Passengers looking at departure board at King's Cross

National Rail Enquiries is part of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which brings together Network Rail and the passenger train companies and rail freight companies that run services on Britain’s rail network.

Passenger Assistance

If you would like assistance when making a journey, such as help getting on or off a train, or ramps for a wheelchair, you can use the service called Passenger Assist.  This is provided by train companies to passengers who require help with their train journey. Passenger Assist is free and available to anyone who needs assistance due to a disability, temporary impairment, or old age. No railcard is required.

If it’s a station managed by Network Rail, please contact the train company you’re starting your journey with – visit National Rail Enquiries’ stations and destinations page and enter the name or three letter code of the station you’re travelling from. The station pages also show details of the facilities available. Assisted Travel contact details can be found in the Support and Information section of the relevant train company page.

We know it’s not always possible to plan your journey in advance. Passengers can turn up at any station that they have identified is accessible to them and request assistance on to a train from a member of staff, or via a help point or a Freephone number. This service is sometimes known as ‘Turn Up And Go’ and depends on conditions at the time of your travel, such as staff availability.

Further information

Our autism friendly guide to travelling by train

This guide has been designed to show and tell you about some of the things you can expect to see while you’re using the railway.

Our autism friendly guide to travelling by train (PDF 2 MB)

If you’re unhappy with your journey

Despite the best intentions, journeys don’t always go to plan. There can be any number of reasons. When there are delays caused by unexpected issues on the network – perhaps because of flooding or other bad weather, a trespasser on the line, or a signal or points failure – we do our best to help restore normal service safely and as quickly as possible.

How we’re reducing delays on the network

If your journey’s been delayed, you may be entitled to compensation from the train company you travelled with. This depends on the train company, your ticket type and the length of the delay. Find out more on National Rail Enquiries’ compensation for delays page.

If you’re looking for independent help and advice, or you need to make a complaint, you can contact independent transport user watchdog Transport Focus.

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