North York Moors Railway in Visit England partnership to promote moors to people with access needs

Steam train on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) has announced a new partnership with Visit England - an initiative to promote the North York Moors and its venues, hotels and attractions for people with access requirements.

NYMR is just one of a number of businesses involved in The North York Moors Accessibility Project, an initiative to help the region’s tourism bounce back from the pandemic, funded by Visit England.

Others include the North York Moors National Park, Inn on the Moor Hotel, Whitby Abbey, and Helmsley Walled Garden.

Central to the accessibility offering at the NYMR will be the four fully accessible ‘fuss free’ coaches which are being launched in April 2023; the coaches are part of the £10 million Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey project (YMJ) which was designed to transform the railway.

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This will mean that all carriage sets in service will contain one historic carriage that has been specially adapted to ease access for everyone with access requirements and accommodate them with their friends and family.

Laura Strangeway, Director of Corporate Services and Deputy CEO at NYMR, said: “Partnerships play an important role here at the NYMR - whether it’s the Heritage Railway Association, Visit York, North York Moors National Park or simply our local community. This project is part of the bigger picture for both the NYMR and the region as a whole.”

The project is also being supported by Access For All UK, who are giving free mentoring to all of the participants, which includes site visits and advice to help venues put together their own accessibility guides.