Zoe has been an independent and confident traveller by bus for many years.
However, after a recent house move it wasn’t as practical to use the bus to get to where she needed to go.
After some discussion about whether Zoe would continue coming to Grace Eyre given the additional travel time, she decided to have a go at the train journey from her local railway station.
At first, Zoe was a little nervous of the train and how busy it was at the destination station. But with a combination of gentle encouragement, her trademark determination and getting to know the station staff, she quickly learned her route and became confident using the train.
Zoe’s Travel Buddy Trainer suggested that she get to know the station staff so that she knew who to ask if she needed help. Travelling by train is a bit different from the bus. For example, you have to be ready to get off at your stop and open the doors yourself. Sometimes there is even a big gap between the train and the platform.
Zoe is now prepared for each journey by carrying with her accessibility contacts so that she can get in touch with staff if she needs help getting on and off the train. She has also taken on board all of the guidance about staying calm, not worrying about the crowds and getting on the train at the back carriages so that she can take her time getting to the ticket barrier.
After completing her training in March 2025, Zoe is now travelling confidently by train to all the activities she likes to do in Brighton.
Grace Eyre was very lucky to have been supported by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) with the travel costs for Zoe’s training. We are thankful to the GTR staff at Zoe’s arrival and departure stations for their help.
Zoe has been super confident throughout the training. As this was something she really wanted to do, she was a little over-confident at first with some of the things she was learning.
However, with lots of support from the Travel Buddy Team and her family, Zoe has a more realistic idea of travelling by train and lots of real world experience.
Zoe said:
“I liked getting to know the station staff and being able to do it by myself. I would recommend travel training because they did a good job with me.”
Find out more about the Travel Buddy Project.
