A TRAIN operator has launched virtual tours of its new carriages to help disabled passengers travel with more confidence.

The online tours are designed to give customers a better picture of what they can expect on board and reduce worries about travelling.

Bosses at Greater Anglia say the tours - which allow people to 'walk through' the train - are a first for the rail industry.

They are especially aimed at helping disabled customers who want to check how accessible their journey is.

People can find out where the toilets, accessible spaces and cycle spaces are located, with 360-degree photography used to map the new trains.

The technology was provided by the Virtual Tour Experts and features an 'accessibility widget' which enables the user to change to high contrast, large font size or audio transcribe.

There are also plans to include British Sign Language videos.

Greater Anglia accessibility manager James Bonehill said: “In addition to our virtual station tours, I am delighted that the project has been extended to cover all types of new trains now running on our network.

“This will greatly assist customers with their journey planning and reduce the anxiety about whether the station or train would create any accessibility barriers so that people can travel with confidence.

“We are committed to making rail more accessible and providing quality information to enable more informed journey planning.”

Neil Henderson, managing director of Virtual Tour Experts, said: “We've really enjoyed working on this project to create a number of industry firsts.

"The world of VR is developing fast, but until now that development has not given due consideration to online accessibility. 

“This tour is the world's first to incorporate an accessibility widget, guided tours, subtitled scene guides and there is much more to come.”

Virtual tours are also available for 14 of Greater Anglia’s busiest stations, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ingatestone, Ipswich, Manningtree and Stansted Airport.