Leeds train station celebrates disabled people worldwide with purple lights

The rays of purple light will beam from Leeds railway station’s historic Dark Arches on Thursday.

This is part of the global #PurpleLightUp movement which celebrates the contributions of disabled people around the world.

Purple is the recognised colour for disability and the lights will enable the railways to highlight their commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Nick Cooper, Station Manager for Network Rail at Leeds, said: “We’re really happy to be supporting this initiative and we continue to strive to create a railway which is suitable for everyone.

“We know that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought new challenges, and we’ve worked particularly hard over recent months to ensure that disabled passengers get a good service during this difficult time.”

Leeds station will be joined by some of Britain’s other main stations such as Manchester Piccadilly and London King’s Cross.

This year the Coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges to the rail industry and has impacted both staff and passengers.

Mask wearing and social distancing have made travelling more challenging especially for passengers with non-visible disabilities.

Network Rail has introduced a range of measures to help people to travel safely and with confidence during the pandemic, including taking part in the sunflower lanyard scheme to help recognise those with a non-visible disability or those who are unable to wear a face covering.

The organisation has also provided hand sanitiser in its stations, installed at various heights.

Network Rail employs more than 800 disabled people and aims to have at least ten per cent of leadership positions filled by disabled people by 2024.

To attract and retain more talented disabled people within the organisation, the company is working with Evenbreak, an award-winning social enterprise, run by and for disabled people.

Network Rail has also been recognised as a finalist in the RIDI (Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative) awards 2020 for its autism recruitment programme.