Jamie & EMR's cards for stammering

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Jamie, with EMR's TALK cards and wristband

How Jamie asked East Midlands Railway to make space for stammering with their 'TALK' passenger assistance cards.

Travelling by train and having to speak to railway staff can be a real issue for some people who stammer. That's what it was like for Jamie Lewis Rennie, who told us: "I use East Midlands Railway (EMR) every now and again, and when I'm travelling on my own I really struggle". 

Whilst browsing their website, Jamie noticed that EMR had started producing cards to help customers who need assistance at their stations. He tells us, "I just randomly looked at what they have on offer and I saw they did 'TALK' cards, and I was like 'Ooh, I like this'. They did one for autism but they didn't do one for customers who have a stammer, like myself. So, I reached out to EMR's Customer Relations and asked them if they would be up for adding a new one to their list". 

Jamie got a response from EMR straight away saying that they liked his idea and had forwarded it on to their Accessibility and Inclusion Team. Sure enough, a little while later Jamie was thrilled when they sent him cards in the post, with the words 'I have a stammer/I have a speech impairment, please be patient' on them. 

Jamie said, "I have travelled on my own since and I've shown my card to the team and honestly, the staff were amazing! I honour EMR so much!"

Earlier this year, Jamie noticed that they've started making wristbands. "So again," Jamie says, "I contacted EMR and said, 'Can someone help?' And they have! They sent me a wristband too". 

EMR's TALK cards

Carl Rowland from East Midlands Railways told us more about their scheme: "In 2024, we were proud at EMR to launch TALK cards in collaboration with Communication Access UK. These handy cards help customers communicate various essential access needs to our staff, without the customer having to physically communicate with our teams. This supports customers who may have a disability or impairment and helps to break down communication barriers to them accessing the railway. These cards were endorsed by EMR's Access & Inclusion Customer Panel who really encouraged us to make them a reality and helped us decided the prompts printed on the cards.

I can't fault East Midlands Railway and I can't thank them enough.

'There were initially 15 cards to choose from, ranging from 'I have autism, please be patient' to 'Where are the toilets?', to support customers in getting fast access to essential travel support from our customer facing staff.

'We receive lots of feedback from customers and really value the opinion of people with lived experience of disability when creating new tools to support our customers. So when Jamie contacted us, I absolutely loved the suggestion! It was quickly adopted and we now have two additional TALK cards that are designed to support customers with a stammer or speech impairment. Our TALK cards have proved very popular with customers, and we have now given out over 600 TALK cards."

Jamie said, "From the bottom of my heart, I can't fault East Midlands Railway and I can't thank them enough. They don't get recognised enough for their hard work and enthusiasm". 

Well done to Jamie for proving that it just takes one person to make a difference. And a shout out too to East Midlands Railway for being so receptive in accommodating people who stammer.

If you’re travelling on East Midlands Railway and would like one of their TALK cards, visit their website, where you can order one for free or download a digital version. You can also order wristbands using the email address on the page.