Blind and partially sighted people are instructing Greater Anglia rail staff on their vision problems in a new initiative.

Staff will receive training through vision awareness sessions, improving the assistance given to passengers impacted by sight loss.

The sessions are guided by Sight Loss Councils and supported by Thomas Pocklington Trust - regional groups overseen by blind and partially sighted volunteers.

The Essex Sight Loss Council will educate staff on different eye conditions and their everyday effects.

Members of the Essex Sight Loss Council are on hand to provide advice, as well as tell their own stories Members of the Essex Sight Loss Council are on hand to provide advice, as well as tell their own stories (Image: Greater Anglia)

The council members, all with visual impairments, will provide glasses simulating the ten most common UK eye conditions.

Staff members will perform everyday tasks such as reading maps and pairing socks while wearing the glasses, gaining a valuable insight into the experiences of visually impaired passengers.

The comprehensive four-hour course will be available monthly to Greater Anglia conductors and customer service staff until January 2025.

The goal is to provide a heightened understanding of different types of sight loss enabling a more accessible transport experience.

Adrian Brown, Greater Anglia’s conductor training and standards manager, said: “These sessions give a real insight into what it is like for customers living with sight loss, allowing our staff to ask questions and have a go at guiding their colleagues around objects using hints and tips given by the training team, just as they would help a customer off a train or on a station platform."

The course participants have to complete simple tasks, such as looking at a map, with glasses that simulate various visual conditions The course participants have to complete simple tasks, such as looking at a map, with glasses that simulate various visual conditions (Image: Greater Anglia)

Samantha Leftwich, engagement manager East at Thomas Pocklington Trust, said: “It has been great for Sight Loss Councils to work with Greater Anglia to raise awareness of the needs of blind and partially sighted people who use their network as a whole."

Sight Loss Councils across the country are collaborating with transport providers, increasing public transport accessibility.

Blind and partially sighted people have highlighted this as a key issue in enabling their independent safe travel.