Indian Railways Accessibility

Quotient

Presented by:

Ms. Abha Negi

Svayam an initiative of SJ Charitable Trust
editor@svayam.com
www.svayam.com

National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2006: The National

Policy recognizes that Persons with Disabilities are valuable human resource
for the country and seeks to create an environment that provides them equal
opportunities, protection of their rights and full participation in society.

INDIA

India is the seventh biggest country in

the world;
Total area of India is estimated to be
3,287,240 square kilometer;

Population of India : 1210.2 million (as

per Census 2011);
Hence, it is very important to develop
seamless accessible public transport

Indian Railways Span &

Importance

Largest rail network in Asia and

the world's second largest under
one management;
Indian Railways are a multigauge, multi-traction system
covering over one hundred
thousand track kilometers;
Carries near about 30 million
passengers daily;
Reaches to the remotest of part
of the country ;
The above results in
increasing its demand year
after year.

Increase in Demand of
Indian Railways v/s Airlines
No. of
Passengers
(in Millions)
Year
Railways
Airlines

2001-02 2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

5093
1281

5112
1454

5475
1817

4971
1332

Suburban Rail
Suburban rail usage has sharply increased over the past
five decades, with a 14-fold growth in passenger km of
travel (Indian Railways 2001).

Reason for Increase in Demand

Growing Population: Increased in urban
population from 62 million in 1951 to 285
million in 2001 and is estimated to be
around 540 million by the year 2021
Extension of cities far beyond old city
boundaries
Increased Urban trips : 80 million trips
will need to be catered per day, whereas
only 37 million trips are being provided by
the available rail and bus mass transport
facilities
Scatteredresidential and commercial
development without necessary
infrastructure

India appears on the second position in the list of

passengers carried in rail transport per year (Countries
with more than 500 million passengers):
Country
Japan
India
Germany
People's Republic of China
United Kingdom
France
Russia
South Korea
Italy
Spain
South Africa

Billion
passengers
22.67
8.03
1.95
1.86
1.33
1.14
1.14
1.06
0.64
0.57
0.53

Year
2010
2010
2010
2011
2010
2009
2009
2010
2009
2010
2007

Source: UIC database

Even though many advanced technologies or superior

designs of coaches have long been made available to
people in Europe, Japan and now China, replicating or

Challenges faced by Indian

Railways
Overcrowding, low frequency and
lack of universal design
Lack of financial resources
Low per-capita income : 23 percent
of Indian urban population living in
poverty
Extremely low fares : Due to 70%
(as per the Census 2011) of Indian
population living in rural area
Misuse of Coach for Disabled

Need for Barrier-free Rail

System

Disabled People in India

Disability was included in the census
for the first time in 2001
As per Census 2001, 2.2% of the
population was disabled
This figure is contested by
organizations working in the field
which estimate Indias total disabled
population at approximately six per
cent or 70 million
As per the recent World Bank
report, India has some 40 to 80
million people with disabilities
Census 2011 report still awaited

Census 2011
Campaign by Svayam
in association with
Census of India

Population trend: India

Senior Citizens comprise 5% of
Indias population, and the UN
predicts that by 2050, about 536
million Indians will be aged 50 or
over;
The number of people over 80 is
growing at 4% per annum; the
population as a whole is growing at
1% per annum;
3.5 million people will be over 100
years old by 2050: over half will live
in Asia.
Currently 64% of older people live in
less developed regions, by 2050 this
figure will rise to 80%;

The link between age and

disability
There is a strong
correlation between age
and disability;
Two thirds of disabled
people are seniors.

Hence, the growing population over 60 that is projected to

reach 177 million by 2025 together with Indias population of
70 million persons with disabilities is the main reason to make
accessibility of the transport system a top priority

Global population trends: Ageing

Our world is, after all, ageing rapidly, primarily due to increased
lifespans and declining fertility rates. The Economic Times
dated 21.02.12.

We are at a brink of an ageing world, and we are not prepared.

Mr. Brian Kennedy, CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on
Ageing.

This mega crisis (ageing population) will start impacting us in

the coming 20years. Dr. Majd Alwan, Executive Director of the
Center of Ageing Services Techonologies.

Provisions for people with disability in

Indian Railways
Indian Railways has extended a considerably large concession on
the ticket for the disabled traveller and one escort travelling with
them making the travel very cheap.

(Conti)

The Indian Railways have provided a separate compartment for

the disabled passengers at the end of the train next to the guard
van.

(Conti)

The attempts have been made by Indian Railways to incorporate the accessibility features
at some of the railway stations (like Delhi railway station and Agra Cantt railway station)
such as earmarked parking for the wheelchair users, accessible entrance, waiting room
with accessible toilet and above all inter connectivity of all the platforms with the ramp.

Accessible Features at Railway Station, New Delhi

Ramp at the
entrance

Drinking Water counters at

two levels

Accessible toilet at the

platform

Placement of tactile warning

and guiding blocks

Accessible Features at Railway Station, New Del

Provision of Golf Cart on Platform No. 1

for intra-platform movement for the
passengers with reduced mobility

Accessible Features at Railway Station, Agra Cantt

Ramps connecting various

platforms

Ramp being used by coolies

Accessible toilet in the

waiting room

Leveled surfaces

But is this enough to

make Indian
Railways
Accessible to All ???

 The concession extended by Indian Railways is of no use if the railway

stations and rail coaches are not accessible and are often difficult to
use by people with various disabilities due to various reasons like :

Steps at various places

No information to passengers
regarding train arrival/departures
at respective platforms
Lack of appropriate directional
signage to guide people,

(Conti)

Lack of trained staff available

to assist disabled passengers
Absence of accessible toilets

Unleveled surfaces
Absence of amenities like
drinking water fountains, etc.

 Lack of provision for inter-platform transfers for people with disabilities putting their safety at question. They are forced to use the railway tracks for crossing hence increasing the risk of accident.

The coach for disabled does not facilitate independent and

dignified access to a user as the component of manual
assistance invariably remains due to:
Unleveled platform

Tactile warning blocks up

to the disabled coach only
hence posing trip hazard

Lack of enforcement leads

to overcrowding

INITIATIVES FOR DIFFERENTLY-ABLED PERSONS

Indian Railways has taken initiative to start manufacturing

specially
designed
coaches
having
earmarked
compartments and toilets adopted to the needs of wheel
chair borne/differently-abled persons. Each differentlyabled compartment provided in specified coaches has a
berthing capacity for 4 passengers including two
attendants along with toilet and other amenities. Indian
Railways has so far manufactured 2100 such specially
designed coaches. It will be the endeavour of the Railways
to have one such coach in each mail/express train. Efforts
are being made to ensure ease of access to platforms and

So called accessible coaches

Overcrowding in the coach for

disabled

Person with locomotive

disability finding it difficult to
enter the train due to high

Toilets in the coach for

disabled people

Level difference of the

platform and the coach
does not facilitate
independent and dignified

The Way Forward

New coaches to based on the universal
design which would be accessible to all
including the elderly and the disabled.
It is important that even the existing coaches
should be retrofitted to make them
accessible in a time bound manner.
Railway stations at the rural belts to be
made accessible

(Conti)

Platforms to be made accessible by :

-Having ramps at all the entrances to the
railway station
-Interconnecting ramps within the railway
station for safe inter platform transfer
-Installation of elevators and travelators
instead of escalators
-Designated unisex toilet on each platform
Availability of Information
Sensitization of staff
Maintenance and repair of existing facilities

Conclusion
Accessibility refers to peoples ability to
reach to the goods, services and activities,
which is the ultimate goal of most transport
activity.
Accessibility and mobility are directly linked
to each other and hence it is important that
transport planning should be based on
accessibility.
Accessibility must not be seen as an isolated
policy
It must become a non-negotiable part of

A nation's development is also

measured by the ease with which it
integrates elderly & disabled into the
mainstream society.

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