Arriva Rail London (ARL) has started the roll out of deaf awareness training to hundreds of London Overground employees to improve journeys for deaf people and those with a hearing loss travelling across the capital.

ARL, which operates the London Overground on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), has developed a comprehensive training programme alongside Deafax, Signly and DCAL, University College London’s Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre. The development of the programme has been funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and hopes to open up the world of travel for deaf people and those with a hearing loss in London, giving them the confidence and support they need from staff to make safe journeys on the London Overground.

350 ARL employees will embark on a specially designed deaf awareness programme, to help address these accessibility issues. The course will bolster the current disability awareness training, as part of the customer service induction. Employees will be fully trained and ready to assist passengers by the end of 2019.

Delivered by deaf trainers from Deafax, the training programme has been inspired and shaped by deaf people and those with a hearing loss, as well as station teams who assist passengers every day who are deaf or have a hearing loss.

The programme launch was chosen to coincide with National Inclusion and the United Nations International Sign Languages week.

You can view the signed press release for more information below: