European rails are compatible to physically challenged passengers (Indian Railways' incompatibility to PH passengers - Part 2

European railways are compatible to physically challenged passengers

In Europe and North America train travel is made a lot more comfortable for passengers with special needs. This service is a courtesy extended by the railway authorities.

According to the Passenger rights Rail - legislation in force in the EU from December 2009 “Railway companies shall provide disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility with assistance on board a train and during boarding and disembarking from a train free of charge”. (http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/passengers/rail/index_en.htm)

 Railway stations in Europe and North America have:

·         Automated doorways with scanners that facilitate easy transit for wheelchair bound quadriplegics.

·         Ramps, escalators, elevators, luggage escalators are all easy to use and widely distributed in railway   stations.

·         

      Facilities used in Railway stations - be they - ATM machines, ticket vending machines, toilets, coffee dispensers, snack kiosks, condom vending machines, taxi booking counters, even florists’ shops, restaurants, café tables, book stalls, souvenir shops or consumer durable shops and showrooms are all designed to cater to the needs of a wheelchair bound passenger.

European train toilets have enough space to wheel in a wheelchair bound passenger and offer other amenities like:

•             faucets with scanners,

•             disposable rim covers,

•             soap dispensers

•             plug points,

•             paper rolls,

•             taps,

•             showers,

•             latches,

•             hangers,

•             hooks etc. all accessible to a person sitting on a wheelchair inside the train toilet in Eurail.

Flush knobs, toilet seats covers, WC rims, wash sinks, taps, soap dispensers, toilet paper rolls are all designed with PH passengers’ compatibility in mind: Door latches, faucets, hooks, soap trays, mirrors, plug points, hair dryers, are all within arm’s length of a wheelchair bound Passenger in the toilets of European trains. (www.2009_12_03_summary_of_new_rail_passenger_rights.pdf)   

In Europe and North America the level of the platform and the train is the same. This helps ushering in wheelchair bound passengers. Perambulators stretchers, cycles, shopping carts can all be wheeled in easily since platforms are on par with the train floors. 

European Benchmarks:

In Europe train toilets are large enough to accommodate wheelchairs, there are separate toilets for PH passengers on trains or if there are no separate toilets for PH passengers on trains they are certainly compatible / accessible for PH passengers. There is no question of standing to reach these facilities risking fall or fracture in fast moving European trains. They hurtle past at 600 kilometres per hour speed. Never do you feel a jolt or feel like tipping.

Trains with chair cars lack seat belts or at least they never function.

At least newly built train cars can be made accessible as per EU standards. According to a press release of the E U Transport Commission issued on 11th March 2013 “The European Commission is making accessibility an essential requirement for rail infrastructure when newly built, upgraded or renewed. Accessibility can be achieved by preventing or removing barriers and through other measures such as provision of assistance. The rules apply to infrastructure (e.g. obstacle-free routes, ticketing, information desks, toilets, visual and spoken information, platform width and height, and boarding aids) and to rail carriages (e.g. doors, toilets, wheelchair spaces, and information).

"Making rail transport more accessible to everyone is at the heart of our strategy for a high-quality, sustainable transport system in Europe", said Vice-President Siim Kallas, EU Commissioner for transport. "This change represents the first in a series of actions by the Commission this year to further improve access to transport for people with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility in Europe. It establishes a direct link to EU-level technical specifications for rail accessibility already available and sets an example of good practice for other modes of transport. It also demonstrates the EU's commitment to meeting its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."

The benchmarks of compatibility and access sensitivity are most certainly set by European countries and in North America.

For a detailed perspective, the EU Embassy’s Press Officer gave this writer this link: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-212_en.htm  

Standardisation:

http://www.nda.ie/cntmgmtnew.nsf/0/C0DBA1BA241FB9398025710F004D8EAA/$File/Transport.pdf is a link that provides guidelines for accessibility issues in Ireland.

http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/IntOrg/ecmt/pubpdf/06TPHguidelines.pdf IS another useful link in the EU.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility  is educative / informative for India’s political class… / legislators.

Malini Shankar

Malini Shankar is a senior journalist based in Bangalore, India and is a disability rights writer; she is one of the directors of Digital Discourse Foundation (www.digitaldiscourse.org.in).