Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations — Code of Practice
Accessible station announcements without replacing the existing PA system
What this is
“Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations: a Code of Practice”, published jointly by the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland (Version 4, originally published 23 March 2015, last updated 31 December 2020), sets accessibility design standards for railway station infrastructure. Licensed station operators must follow the Code when installing, renewing or replacing relevant station infrastructure and facilities.
Who it applies to
Train operating companies and rail infrastructure developers (including Network Rail) carrying out infrastructure work at stations in England, Scotland and Wales. It applies when infrastructure is installed, renewed or replaced, rather than automatically to unchanged existing infrastructure.
What kind of instrument this is
A statutory Code of Practice. It is not primary legislation itself, but train and station operator licences issued by the Office of Rail and Road require licensees to pay due regard to the Code when drawing up their Disabled People's Protection Policy (DPPP), and it is a standard DPPP condition that operators follow the Code — so it carries real regulatory weight via that route. It must be read alongside the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011 and the PRM National Technical Specification Notice (see the separate PRM NTSN datasheet).
Specific requirements relevant to announcements and accessible communication
- Section A1 (Pre-travel information) — information on station accessibility (confirmed to include car parking facilities, local transport interchanges, and accessible entrances, among other facilities) must be freely available in advance, through multiple formats and channels.
- Section L1 (Announcements — general) — European standards require operating rules that ensure consistency between essential visual and spoken information.
- Section L2 (Announcements — induction loops) — where induction loops are installed, their availability must be indicated by signage, per PRM TSI specifications.
- Section L3 (Announcements — emergency alarms) — emergency communication systems must be accessible to all passengers.
What organisations are expected to do
- Make station accessibility information available pre-travel, in multiple formats and channels (A1).
- Ensure essential audible announcements have a consistent visual counterpart (L1).
- Signpost induction loop availability where fitted (L2).
- Ensure emergency communication is accessible to all passengers (L3).
Which requirements AnnounceAgain can help address
The L1 requirement for consistency between essential visual and spoken information is the clearest match — AnnounceAgain is built specifically to give every spoken PA announcement a visual, text counterpart.
How AnnounceAgain addresses them
- Automatically transcribes station PA announcements — platform changes, delays, safety messages — into text, supporting the L1 consistency principle without requiring the underlying PA system to be replaced.
- Makes announcements available in translation for passengers with limited English.
- Gives passengers a way to review a missed announcement, supporting the Code's broader theme of information in multiple formats and channels.
Requirements AnnounceAgain does not satisfy by itself
- Does not fulfil the L2 induction loop requirement or its signage obligation.
- Does not itself satisfy the L3 emergency alarm accessibility requirement — emergency information must still reach passengers through certified station systems, not solely via AnnounceAgain (see the BS 5839-8 / BS EN 50849 datasheets).
- Does not address the A1 pre-travel accessibility-information duty for station facilities (step-free access, staffing hours, etc.) beyond announcement content itself.
Requirements needing certified hardware or other measures
- Physical induction loop installation and signage (L2).
- Certified station emergency alarm/voice communication systems (L3).
- Physical accessibility infrastructure — ramps, tactile paving, help points — covered elsewhere in the Code.