The main news is Euston’s new Assisted Travel Lounge that recently opened. More on that in a bit but first a brief on the Waymos being seen about London’s streets…

1) Way to go!

Spotted my very first Waymo yesterday! What an exciting moment! Like all other reports of Waymos in London this had a driver, or two rather, one as a backup or supervisor presumably and the other driving.

The autonomous driving car (currently being captained by a faulty, erroneous, human being!)

Waymos will not be driving autonomously in London until 2027 at the earliest, so everyone who is concerned can sigh a temporary relief. That includes Christian Wolmar – who completely opposes self-driving vehicles.

The Waymo outside Warren Street tube station. A small number of vloggers and bloggers have so far written about the Waymos’ presence in London.

Here’s one where You Tube’s Joe Dan Hirst chases Waymos around Central London.

2) Euston’s dire new Assisted Travel Lounge

I went to see the new Euston Assisted Travel Lounge. It opened a couple of weeks ago. On the basis of the new one introduced at Paddington earlier this year, I had somewhat high expectations for that at Euston.

The new look Assisted Travel Lounge’s frontage. Compare with that below.

The rather more pleasant old Assisted Travel Lounge during its final days at the end of February 2026.

What did I find? An accessibility unit that has essentially been downgraded from the old one. Bring back the old please!

When Network Rail claim they were going to upgrade the one at Euston, well that was nothing of the sort but the complete opposite in fact. Yes there’s a certainty that Network Rail has built a new Assisted Travel Lounge that meets the required lux levels and so on. In terms of accessibility, well its no different. What a waste of time and expense! Basically they could have kept the old one and given it a new coat of paint.

If they had wanted a better Assisted Travel Lounge well then the best place would have been where the accessibility buggies are kept and they could have had a unit based on Paddington’s, clearly visible on TWO sides from the main concourse and platforms. That would have been even better. The buggies, well I suppose these could have gone where the old unit was. Or they could have been creative with the buggies’ parking somehow and found another space for these. After all the station was entirely happy to plonk two large digital screens (now removed) right across the stations’ vast concourse and essentially re-arrange how the station’s passenger flows ensued. Besides, they’ve managed to introduce a new large information kiosk (somewhat similar to Liverpool Street station) near where the former entrance to the tube stood. Its a question of planning appropriately, sensibly, and finding the necessary sites.

Basically the new area space is little different from the old and had plenty of wheelchair turning space. The old also had a central space with no obstructions or anything for the blind or Deaf Blind. There might be extra seats in the new but it simply does not make the new any better. That is because there were additional seats outside the entrance to the old and these did not impinge the old entrance. The new unit’s brighter and the walls have the decoration needed in terms of the blind or the Deaf Blind, but they could have easily done that with the old.

Network Rail’s plans for the Euston Assisted Travel Lounge.

Network Rail said they were “Replacing the ceiling, flooring, lighting and furniture to transform the facility and make it more welcoming, comfortable and accessible for everyone.”

Its basically a dump!

The new Assisted Travel Lounge at Paddington is bright and convivial and has the required lux levels. Its also way above the shocking level of austerity of that at Euston. What on earth were Network Rail thinking when they decided the old Euston one needed an upgrade? It seems the desire is to make Euston station an even more unpleasant station to use.

The far more pleasant and comfortable older Lounge. Even had BSL screens too! Compare with a similar view of the new below.

Call this an upgrade? Its a massive downgrade by the look of it! Very few information screens too, and not a single BSL screen sighted.

As per usual Rail standards, staff can’t even use sign language despite the ear symbols on display at the entrance. There’s no BSL screens in the new unit compared to those that were in the old – thus it seems the railways are more determined to thumb their noses at BSL users. One staff member informed me the lack of training happened to be a management decision.

In a sense its what’s happening as I suggested in my Railways and the Deaf feature, this being BSL screens are plonked around Britain’s railway stations and that’s it basically. No-one cares about the Deaf/Deaf Blind beyond that. The operating authorities no doubt assume the Deaf or Deaf Blind have no need for assistance or enquiry.

When that does happen many of us are left at the mercy of negligible communication, misunderstandings and even ridicule – because those trying to communicate without speech must somehow be deemed as a funny thing.