Station Based Calm Spaces

New Report Alert! Our Calm Spaces Technical Design Brief is here

A Community-led Design Framework for Inclusive, Accessible Travel.

We’re proud to share the launch of our Calm Spaces Technical Design Brief, a comprehensive and user-led report developed by Oxfordshire Community Rail Partnership (OxCRP) with support from Oxfordshire County Council’s Public Health Team, in collaboration with inclusive design consultants, Mima.

This work is fundamentally grounded in lived experience and shaped through two dedicated workshops involving disabled and neurodivergent participants.  Alongside this, are insights established through in-depth consultations with key stakeholders across the rail and public health sectors, including CrossCountry’s Access Panel, GWR Accessibility Mentors, Active Oxfordshire, and Connected Places Catapult. The report outlines a replicable model for creating inclusive, accessible "Calm Spaces" at train stations — spaces that support emotional regulation, reduce stress, and promote wellbeing during travel.

A Community Vision for Healthier, Happier Travel

At its core, the Calm Spaces initiative is about providing meaningful recommendations that will help us and our industry partners to develop stations that are supportive environments and reflect the diverse needs of the communities they serve. Developed in partnership with Mima, the design brief places lived experience at the heart of decision-making, blending grassroots insight with practical infrastructure planning.

Funded by Oxfordshire County Council’s Public Health Team, the Calm Spaces model recognises that accessible, inclusive travel has far-reaching health benefits. It opens up opportunities, social mobility, reduces social isolation, and supports mental wellbeing by enabling people to connect with spaces, communities, and experiences beyond their immediate environment.

Key Features and Methodology

This report was built through:

• Two co-production workshops with participants with lived experience of neurodivergence, integrating their insights and expertise while positioning grassroots research at the heart of innovative design.

• Engagement with rail industry experts including CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, and Gatwick Airport’s Accessibility Panel to understand the specific challenges, opportunities and best practices for accessibility initiatives within the transport sector.

• Public health collaboration with Active Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire County Council’s  Public Health Team, understanding the local context and barriers to community health and wellbeing in Oxfordshire, while raising awareness of the role that travel and transport plays in supporting this.

• Grounded consultation to explore sensory-friendly, modular and fixed Calm Space designs that meet the needs of travellers, researching best practice design principles and innovation.

• 
  

Whether it’s a modular pod or a fixed room within the station, Calm Spaces are designed to:

• Improve travel confidence for disabled and neurodivergent passengers.

• Provide inclusive environments that support sensory regulation.

• Be easily navigable, well-signposted, and free of unnecessary barriers.

• Be flexible and scalable to suit different station sizes and community needs.

Why It Matters

Currently, disabled people take 38% fewer journeys than non-disabled people — a gap that hasn’t changed in over 15 years. This design brief is a response to that inequality, creating a model that rail industry partners can adopt across the UK to build confidence and reduce anxiety for passengers who may otherwise be excluded from rail travel.

It also aligns with OxCRP’s vision of rail stations as community hubs — places that are not just passed through but experienced meaningfully by everyone.

Let’s Build It Together

This brief is more than a final report— it’s an open invitation. We’re actively seeking collaborators across the rail industry, local government, health, and community sectors to help bring this work to life.

If you're interested in co-designing future Calm Spaces or trialling this model at your station, we want to hear from you. Together, we can create a railway that truly works for everyone.

👉 Get in touch with us to learn more or to explore how we can work together to build more inclusive, community-led, health-promoting spaces across the network.

Read the full report here.