Women from Aawaz (‘Voice’ in Urdu) Access Point on Blackburn Road in Accrington came to the railway station to learn how to travel safely and confidently by train.
They learned how to read a timetable, buy a ticket, work out which platform to wait on and who to ask for help when needed. For many of the women, it was their first time at the station so they were a little apprehensive. After meeting Steve at the ticket office, they felt at ease as he explained their options for travelling and helped them to buy tickets. The group then travelled to Nelson for an afternoon of shopping at the Bazaar.
-
- Talking to Steve in the booking office
-
- Waiting for the train
-
- The Aawaz ladies on the train
-
- Arriving at Nelson Interchange
Railway stations can be scary places, especially if English is not your first language. The Aawaz Access point aims to help women who may not speak English as their first language to improve their chances of integrating into wider society by offering localised courses in English that teach life skills such as basic IT, English improvement and how to travel on public transport safely and with confidence. Mrs Farooq, who works with the women at Aawaz was extremely positive about the work that CRL did with Aawaz:
“The ladies really enjoyed themselves and learned a lot from the experience. Most of them had never travelled by train before and felt that they could now buy a ticket and ask for help with confidence. This was a very helpful session and we look forward to working with Community Rail Lancashire again.”