At Rail 74 Community Rail Partnership, we believe train travel should feel welcoming, accessible, and comfortable for everyone.
As part of our Tracks to Inclusion programme, we are proud to launch a new pilot project in partnership with the National Autistic Society South Lanarkshire — introducing our “My Train Bag” sensory travel packs for neurodivergent children and families.
💙 The Idea
For many autistic children and young people, travelling by train can feel overwhelming. Busy stations, loud announcements, crowds, waiting times, and unfamiliar environments can all create anxiety and sensory overload.
Working alongside families and local partners, Rail 74 has developed a small pilot of sensory travel bags designed to help make journeys:
- calmer
- more comfortable
- more predictable
- and more confident
The project has been supported through funding from Siemens alongside Rail 74 CRP.
🎒 What’s Inside the Bag?
Each “My Train Bag” includes carefully selected items aimed at supporting sensory regulation and travel confidence, including:
- Ear defenders
- Fidget and sensory toys
- A hand-powered torch
- A train whistle
- a copy of our stop by stop line guide
- sunglasses
- A “Rail 74 Passport to Adventure” activity booklet
The bags are designed to be simple, portable, and easy to use on real train journeys across the Rail 74 line.
🚉 The Pilot
The initial pilot will work with 10 local families from across Lanarkshire and communities along our rail corridor.
Families will use the bags during train journeys and share feedback about:
- confidence levels
- anxiety reduction
- travel experience
- and which items were most helpful
Rail 74 also hopes to bring families together for a supported group rail journey, helping create positive shared travel experiences in a relaxed environment.
🌱 Why It Matters
Community rail is about more than stations and timetables — it’s about ensuring railways work for local people and helping remove barriers to travel.
This project forms part of Rail 74’s wider Tracks to Inclusion work, which focuses on:
- accessibility
- neurodiversity awareness
- travel confidence
- and inclusive community engagement
By listening directly to families and children, we hope this pilot can help shape future inclusive travel support across our railway.
🤝 Partnership Working
This pilot has been developed through collaboration between:
- Rail 74 Community Rail Partnership
- National Autistic Society South Lanarkshire
- Siemens
- local families and schools
Together, we are working towards more inclusive journeys for everyone.
📈 Looking Ahead
The feedback and learning from this pilot will help Rail 74 explore opportunities to:
- expand the project to more families
- develop additional travel support resources
- and continue building confidence in public transport use
We are excited to see how these small bags can make a big difference to local journeys.
💙 Helping create calmer, more confident journeys along our line.
