On a chilly Thursday in November, members of the Aubin team headed out across the Solent region to conduct a full day of station audits, as part of our collaboration with Solent Transport. Over the course of the day, the team visited five key stations, gathering the detailed information needed to support more accessible and confident journeys for all passengers.

Why We’re Mapping Stations

The purpose of the visit was simple but important: to accurately map each station and capture photographs of the layout and facilities. This visual and spatial information contributes to enhanced station profiles within Aubin, ensuring travellers – especially neurodivergent passengers – can better understand what to expect before they travel.

This approach was first trialled at Bristol Temple Meads in 2023 as part of the Connected Places Catapult’s Station Innovation Zone programme. Following its success, we’re now expanding the method across the Solent.

Where We Visited

Throughout the day, the team covered:

• Eastleigh
• Southampton Central
• Cosham
• Portsmouth & Southsea
• Portsmouth Harbour

These stations were selected in collaboration with Solent Transport and the South Western Railway Accessibility team, focusing on locations that are either busier, larger, or more complex to navigate.

Supporting Neuro-Inclusive Travel

Aubin is designed as a neuro-inclusive journey planner and travel companion, providing the clarity and predictability many neurodivergent travellers rely on.

By gathering precise station layouts, entrances, platforms, and facility locations, we can offer accurate step-by-step navigation instructions and visual previews within the app.

For many travellers, this reduces uncertainty, boosts confidence, and makes independent travel more achievable.

Collaborative Effort on the Day

During the audit at Southampton Central, the Aubin team was joined by Lauren Ward from Solent Transport, strengthening the collaborative nature of the project. Lauren said “It was inspiring to see the Aubin team in action during the station audits. My biggest takeaway from the day is that travel should feel empowering, not overwhelming. By mapping every detail, Aubin transforms uncertainty into confidence for every passenger.”

We were also joined for the day by Alex Clark of RailBat, who carried out Lidar scanning of the 5 stations to provide precise 3D modelling of the station environment. Alex focused on accessibility-relevant infrastructure for passengers particularly with additional mobility; for example benches, help points and lifts. This will primarily provide an additional frame of reference for the surveys carried out, but both teams plan to collaboratively explore the potential to present additional visual information on stations.

We would like thank the Accessibility Team at South Western Railway for their support in planning and organising the day, as well as the train and station staff for helping to ensure the day ran smoothly.