Greater Anglia has unveiled a new online 360-degree virtual tour of its recently opened Beaulieu Park rail station, giving passengers the ability to explore the station in advance and plan their journeys with greater confidence.
Designed to improve journey planning and reduce travel anxiety—particularly for disabled passengers—the interactive tour provides clear, realistic navigation of all public areas within the new Essex station, which opened in October 2025.
Visitors can digitally explore key areas including the toilets, ticket machines, platforms, bus interchange, and taxi rank, supported by detailed 360° photography, aerial views, and an interactive station map. Users can directly access station features using a drop‑down menu or select destinations via an ‘autopilot’ option for guided navigation.
Supporting Accessible, Stress-Free Travel
Greater Anglia’s Accessibility and Inclusion Manager, Rebecca Richardson, said:
“The idea was to create a tool for customers to assist them with their journey planning and reduce the anxiety about whether the station would create any accessibility barriers, so that they can travel with confidence.
“We are committed to making rail more accessible and providing quality information to enable more informed journey planning.”**
The tour incorporates accessibility‑focused features including a spoken scene guide with captions, adjustable high‑contrast mode, large font options, and audio transcription. The operator also plans to introduce British Sign Language (BSL) videos in future updates.
Feedback from Greater Anglia’s Accessibility Panel, consisting of disabled customers, played a key role in shaping the platform, which has been positively received.
A Major Milestone in the Great Eastern Main Line
Beaulieu Park is the first new station on the Great Eastern Main Line in over 100 years, offering:
- Up to four trains per hour at peak times
- Two trains per hour off‑peak
- Fast direct services to London Liverpool Street in ~40 minutes
- Services to Colchester in ~25 minutes
The new station complements Greater Anglia’s wider investment in accessible rail services, with 19 other major stations already available as virtual tours, alongside all types of the operator’s new, more accessible train fleet.
The Beaulieu Park tour is available on any device at:
https://virtualtour.greateranglia.co.uk/beaulieupark/
Image credit: Greater Anglia
