A passenger welcome service is being trialled at Richmond railway station to boost confidence about travelling on the trains.

The SWR Welcome Hosts have a designated area which customers will see as they enter the station.

They will be on hand throughout the day to answer customer questions, provide reassurance and tips for safe travel on the railway, encourage social distancing and dispense hand sanitiser.

The trial is taking place as travel restrictions ease and passenger numbers are expected to rise.

Richmond is one of eight stations on the network trialling the service and it is hoped that the move will help to reduce ticket office and gateline queues. The trial began earlier this week and is set to run for four to six weeks but could become permanent fixture at the station if successful.

James Dolling of SWR said: "We're living through uncertain times so want to do everything we can to help reassure customers as they return to the railway.

"The Welcome Hosts will be actively encouraging passengers to maintain social distancing and will have hand sanitiser at their stations for customers to use.

"We're looking forward to welcoming our customers back to Richmond station and hope the new Welcome Hosts will provide the reassurance they need to feel safe when using our network."