British train operating company Abellio ScotRail has introduced a new service for deaf passengers. The operator has launched a special application that helps this category of travellers to use the trains smoothly. It is the first application with a new British Sign Language (BSL) developed for the UK rail industry.

The new application was launched in a partnership with InterpreterNow, the British company that has developed the online solution of the same name for deaf people. The InterpreterNow service delivers immediate access to online interpreting for deaf BSL users, enabling deaf and hearing people to communicate with each-other. The ScotRail app was designed to help the deaf passengers during a journey. With a new service, they are able to ask ScotRail staff, the application translates sign language and vice versa. “Customers using BSL as their main form of communication can now have the confidence to travel by rail, knowing our people can help with any query they have in a simple, straightforward way,” said Andrew Marshall-Roberts, ScotRail Access & Inclusion Manager.

Abellio ScotRail

ScotRail, also known as Abellio ScotRail, is a part of Abellio, a public transport operator in the UK and Germany. Abellio is owned by the Dutch national railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen. ScotRail operates the rail routes in the whole Scotland as well as in Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear. The company’s fleet consists of more than 500 vehicles.

The most popular types are the Class 43 high-speed diesel locomotives and the Mark 3 passenger carriages. Both of them are operated as push-pull train on the routes between from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness. These types were produced in the second half of the 1970s. The company has introduced its newest rolling stock in 2015-2019. It is the Class 385 electric multiple units that are being served the Central Belt routes connecting two largest cities of Scotland – Glasgow and Edinburgh.