We're making smoother journeys for customers with hidden disabilities

Sunflower lanyards are now available to customers who may need extra help at our stations or on our trains. 

If you travel with LNER you can now use sunflower lanyards to show our staff that you may need additional assistance at stations or during your journey.

About the sunflower lanyards

The bright green, sunflower print lanyard is becoming the established symbol of hidden disabilities in the UK. The lanyard has been designed to discreetly let staff know that customers have a condition such as autism, dementia or a visual impairment, without you having to locate the staff member.

How to order a sunflower lanyard

If you'd like to have a Sunflower Lanyard you can order them for free by:

•  Contacting the customer services team.
• Collecting them from any LNER station
• or by contacting us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Introducing Sunflower Ambassadors 

We are the first train company to introduce the scheme, following the successful introduction of the lanyards at several major UK airports and supermarkets. The Sunflower Lanyard scheme has been endorsed by hidden disability charities.

We're taking the scheme one step further by creating Sunflower Ambassadors along the 940 miles of train tracks between London and Scotland. The volunteers will be trained on how best to help customers with hidden disabilities.

Amber Robinson, Head of Customer Experience at LNER, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for all of our customers to travel with us. For people with hidden disabilities, it can understandably be an unnerving experience travelling on public transport. We are therefore delighted to be introducing the Sunflower Lanyard on our services.

“By wearing one of the lanyards, it helps inform our on-board and station teams that you may need some assistance or just a friendly hello whilst travelling with us."

Station improvements

LNER has also invested in automating radar key activated doors of accessible toilets at all LNER operated stations, making it considerably easier for customers to gain access.

To find out more about assistance for your journey visit our Assisted Travel page here.