In a first for UK Rail, Southern, Thameslink, and Gatwick Express have permanently installed innovative technology at Brighton station to help people with hearing loss as well as other commuters get to their train more easily.
The innovation is one of the ways passengers are being prioritised under public ownership, as part of the journey towards Great British Railways.
Auracast uses Bluetooth LE Audio technology to broadcast train service announcements from the station public address system in crystal clear high fidelity direct to compatible hearing aids.
The system, which needs no pairing of devices, also streams to compatible headphones and earbuds worn by other commuters, overcoming the poor acoustics of the 185-year-old Grade II* listed station building.
Jenny Sarling, who leads Brighton & Hove Hearing Loss, said: “As a person with severe hearing loss, it’s a complete game-changer – a life-changer in fact. I’m aware that people can use it with earbuds or headphones as well but for those of us with hearing loss, it’s the difference between hearing and not hearing, it’s the difference between feeling isolated on the station and worried about your journey and being able to relax knowing that if anything changes you will hear it.
“Without Auracast, I can go to a platform and all of a sudden hear a muffled announcement, see everyone run off and be left standing there not knowing what’s happened. Now announcements such as platform changes go direct into my ears.”
Carl Martin, accessibility lead for Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express added: “We’re constantly looking for innovative ways to make it easier for everyone to travel on our network, particularly our disabled passengers.
“This fabulous technology will have a huge impact, overcoming the difficulty of hearing announcements in our beautiful but acoustically very challenging, noisy station at Brighton.
“Auracast is new to the railway and we’re delighted to have installed it permanently at Brighton station. As people upgrade their devices, more and more will steadily find they have access to crystal clear announcements. And the way it is used in public spaces will also steadily evolve making it even easier to use.”
Already used in a number of theatres across the West End, Auracast has also been installed at the National Theatre. It was recently tested at Bristol Temple Meads station but Brighton is the first permanent installation.
Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express are using Brighton as a permanent pilot in the hope that a high take-up of passengers using the technology will lead to funding being granted for a wider roll-out across the railway.
Alastair Moore, technology lead at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), commented:
“We are really excited about the potential of Auracast and are delighted to see it being installed in Brighton Railway Station.
“Public transport is an essential service, enabling people to live, work, and participate fully in everyday life. However, for the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf or have hearing loss, announcements can remain a major barrier. Places like stations often have high levels of reverberation and background noise making important information hard to understand.
“We hope this will encourage more places across public transport, education, healthcare, performing arts and places of worship, to adopt Auracast and help make public spaces accessible for deaf people and people with hearing loss.”
Image credit: GTR
