Free blind companion rail travel – launch of new scheme
- Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
- Type: News Item
- Published: 21st March 2025
Companions of blind and partially sighted people can now travel for free on ScotRail trains.
Minister for Equalities Kaukab Stewart has announced the launch of a pilot scheme that will provide free rail travel for companions of blind and partially sighted people travelling by train.
The pilot will apply on all ScotRail train journeys across Scotland, starting 1 April 2025.
This is a result of the successful Fair Rail Campaign which has been led by Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans.
Under this new pilot scheme, individuals holding an eye +1 National Entitlement Card (NEC) will be able to travel with a companion at no additional cost. The pilot scheme, which will run for one year, aims to make train travel more affordable and accessible for blind and partially sighted passengers by introducing a consistent, nationwide policy for free companion rail travel, aligning with existing concessionary bus and ferry travel across Scotland.
Click here for more information.
End of page.
You may also like:
Homeless Network Scotland and Clan Childlaw are running a training session around UNCRC and children’s housing and homelessness rights.
Continue readingThe ALLIANCE and Angus HSCP are working together to promote the power of kindness, compassion, and asking ‘What matters to you?’.
Continue readingResearchers from the Scottish Government and University of Bristol are looking for a range of healthcare professionals
Continue readingShare your feedback on where you would like Changing Places toilets built in Scotland.
Continue readingMembers are invited to provide input into the ALLIANCE's manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament Election.
Continue readingSubscribe to receive future editions of the human rights newsletter.
Continue readingThis call comes after revelations of overuse of restraint and forced injections at adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit, Skye House.
Continue readingA factsheet for private tenants is now available in multiple languages and formats.
Continue readingBuchanan Galleries has teamed up with SignLive, a digital service that provides access to live British Sign Language interpreters.
Continue readingA Fife charity is celebrating 160 years of helping people with Visual Impairment
Continue readingAudiologists call for more research into the impact of noise-cancelling headphones, particularly among children
Continue readingNew BSL Video Relay Service for Help to Claim Universal Credit service
Continue readingA deaf teenager has won a legal fight against Fife Council to have a British Sign Language interpreter in her class for school lessons
Continue readingHearts & Minds' Clown doctors work with Sight Scotland on a pilot project called Play & Connect
Continue readingEdinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership have published two factsheets using funding from the Scottish Government's See Hear Strategy
Continue readingThe Scottish Braille Press announces significant investment in a state-of-the-art braille printer
Continue readingRenato Trotta is a PhD researcher at the University of St. Andrews studying the accessibility of museums for people with Visual Impairment.
Continue readingNew tactile paving to help people with Visual Impairment move around the city more safely is to be trialled in Morningside.
Continue readingRose arrives at a Retirement Village on a bold and heartfelt mission – to teach British Sign Language (BSL)
Continue readingScotland's new national suicide prevention public awareness campaign and website launch.
Continue readingThis consultation is seeking views on how to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for large employers.
Continue readingThe ALLIANCE is establishing a Community of Practice to address concerns around the right to health in Scotland.
Continue readingThe ALLIANCE has published a response to a consultation on Video Relay Service for BSL users
Continue readingThe Scottish Parliament's Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee wants your views on the impact of the BSL (Scotland) Act.
Continue readingDementia assessments for people with Deafness, Deafblindness or Visual Impairment – report published
The ALLIANCE has produced a report for the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-party Group on Deafness on dementia assessments and sensory care
Continue reading