Birmingham New Street: Rail passengers get new BSL information screens

Birmingham New Street is one of eight stations in the UK to have BSL information boards

Rail passengers who are hard of hearing are to benefit from travel updates in British Sign Language (BSL).

Birmingham New Street is one of eight UK stations to get digital touchscreens which provide travel information.

As well as standard messages, Network Rail said within an hour, information can be updated in BSL as "situations evolve" or if there is "unexpected disruption".

The organisation hopes it will give people more confidence to travel.

BSL is the preferred language of more than 87,000 deaf people in the UK for whom English may be a second or third language, the British Deaf Association said.

Grace Davies-Friend from Shropshire wears hearing aids and said travelling alone could be "daunting".

She said she often relied on apps to keep her up to date with changes and disruptions.

Grace Davies-Friend said it could be daunting travelling alone when you have a hearing impairment

"I've never been able to hear the announcements, and travelling alone can be quite daunting for anyone, let alone if you're not able to hear, and it can be quite disorienting for myself as someone with hearing loss," she said.

"I think it's definitely time that transport and stations are made more accessible".

Euston station in London was the first to pilot the technology in 2021.

Network Rail said within an hour, messaging can be turned into BSL and the videos uploaded directly to the screens using 4G technology.

A team of interpreters are also on standby to support passengers, during periods of unexpected disruption, it said.