Travel Support

Book Passenger Assist

You can request Passenger Assist at any point during your journey. To make sure we have staff available to help you, we recommend you book at least 2 hours in advance of travelling.

You can contact us to request Passenger Assist at any time of the day. If your journey involves another train company we may need to confirm part of your journey with them. This might depend on their contact centre opening hours. If this is the case, we will discuss options with you.

To make a booking or for any travel queries please call Passenger Assist –

Telephone - 0800 783 4524

Text Relay number - 18001 0800 783 4524
These numbers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you prefer to fill out a form to make a booking, please use the web form below.  All fields marked * are mandatory.

You can also book Passenger Assist and track your requests through the new Southeastern app.
Create an Accessibility Profile to make booking Passenger Assist even faster.
Download our new app for free the App Store or Google Play.

 

Accessible Travel

Sometimes it's easy to rush when we travel without acknowledging the people around us.

We don't know everyone's story but we do know that some passengers may need more time or extra help when travelling.

Southeastern is committed to providing safe, accessible travel for all. Information on the accessibility of our trains and stations is available below. You can also find guidance on how to book the Passenger Assist service.

Watch our short film, below you will find a link to an audio description script for those with visual impairments.

Download Audio Description script for those with visual impairments

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Travel Support Card

Some of our passengers need more help than others, particularly those with non-visible conditions, but we know that this can be difficult to ask for.

With this in mind, we’ve worked together to find a solution that makes getting some extra help, that little bit easier. Our Travel Support Cards can be requested at a station or through our customer services team and are for anyone with a non-visible condition, a disability, or anyone who simply needs additional help while at our stations or on our trains.

There is space on the card to tell us a little about what you need. While there’s no pressure to complete all of the detail, there may be a time when this information would be useful to us to help you or the person you’re writing it for.

These cards are available from ticket offices or via customer services (0345 322 7021), or you can download your Travel Support Card PDF to print off at home.

Contact us if you have any questions, or have a look at our Travel Support Card FAQs for more assistance.

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Communication Assistance guide 

To supplement our Travel Support Card we have produced a Communication Assistance guide.

This has been produced to assist those passengers who may need assistance when at a station or on a train. Passengers may use it if they encounter difficulty in verbal communication or in hearing replies, or indeed if English isn’t their first language.

The guide has been produced in two main colours to help people with different colour contrast requirements. It lists out a number of primary requests made at stations or on trains, illustrating each with an easy to understand symbol so people can show the symbol for their need, either to staff or other passengers.

Download your copy

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Priority seating card

Need to sit down on the train, but afraid to ask someone else to give up their seat?

If so, you should apply for our Priority seating card and Priority Seat badge. You may need a priority seat if you’re disabled, an older person, pregnant or your child is under three years old. If you’re pregnant we’ll also send you a ‘Baby on Board’ badge.

Priority seats are usually near the doors and are marked with a sign showing a ‘P’ inside a blue triangle. You can find these seats on Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink trains.

If all of our priority seating is being used by those with a specific need then please show your card to other passengers in the carriage and ask if they can let you sit down. Let our on train staff know if you’re struggling to get a seat and they’ll do all they can to help you.

Please note, the Priority Seating card can’t be used if you’re travelling with a child under three and they’re in a buggy.

Apply for a Priority Seating Card

How to apply –

• Download the Southeastern app on the App Store or Google Play
• Priority Seat Card leaflet and application form
• Priority Seat Card - Large Print
• Priority Seat Card (application form) application form - Large Print

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Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyards and Just a Minute (JAM) Cards 

For people with non-visible disabilities across our network.
It’s important that all our passengers feel comfortable enough to travel on our network and our services are accessible to everyone.

• The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard can be worn when a person who has a non-visible disability (such as dementia, anxiety, chronic fatigue or autism) feels that they need our staff to be aware they may need extra help because their condition might not be obvious.
• The ‘Just A Minute’ or ‘JAM’ card can be used by passengers with a learning difficulty, autism or by those who simply find difficulty in communicating. It enables a user to inform a member of staff in a discreet manner they might need a bit more time and support.

There is no qualifying list of conditions to get a Sunflower Lanyard or a JAM card.

Southeastern is just about to launch a new training course on disabilities, which will cover non-visible disabilities in depth and will be ensuring all of its staff, not just frontline, will have gone through it by the end of this year.

You can pick up a Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard or a JAM card by asking at any Southeastern station ticket office, by contacting Customer Services, or through the Southeastern app.