Prince Philip: National Rail confusion after passengers say they can't read ticket website turned black and white in mourning of Duke of Edinburgh

Converting online train journey planners to greyscale as a mark of respect following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death has led to complaints from passengers and rail staff that they are now difficult to read.

The decision by National Rail Enquiries (NRE) and individual train companies to remove colours from their websites goes beyond Government guidance for the period of national mourning, which only suggests organisations use “black edging or black banners”.

NRE’s Twitter account received a barrage of angry messages following the change.

Users described the decision as “utterly ridiculous”, and claimed it has made train timetables “extremely difficult to read”.

Others claimed the switch is in breach of disability discrimination laws.

One user wrote: “Accessibility is so important. Please if you wish to send your respect could you consider doing so in a way that doesn’t mean your website is unusable for many.”

In response to a passenger asking if there was a way for users to change the website back to normal, an NRE employee wrote: “Unfortunately, I do not believe there is currently”, adding: “I too have been struggling to read while it is coloured differently.”

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group, which runs NRE, issued a statement on Monday which said: “The National Rail Enquiries website has been temporarily greyscaled as a mark of respect following the death of HRH Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.

Passengers complain as they can't read the National Rail website after it's turned black and white in mourning of the Duke of Edinburgh.

“We are listening to feedback about how people are using the website and are making further changes today to make it more accessible to all our customers.”

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