Rail accessibility and inclusion news – Page 6
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Rail Business UKTransPennine Express unveils accessibility initiatives
UK: TransPennine Express has introduced the GoodMaps app, which guides blind and other users around stations to help them find features such as platforms, toilets, ticket offices and coffee shops. The app uses LIDAR and image recognition data, and does not require ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail aims to increase the number of disabled people it employs
UK: Network Rail is aiming to increase the number of disabled people it employs, after figures showed that less than 3% of its 44 000 staff have declared a disability or long-term health condition. ‘Around 20% of the population is disabled, and yet less than 3% ...
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NewsSwedish station announcements to be silenced
SWEDEN: Station public address announcements will in future only be made if trains are delayed or there is a platform alteration, Trafikverket has decided.
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Metro Report InternationalLondon Underground consults on accessibility priorities
UK: Transport for London has begun a public consultation to help it prioritise works to make London Underground stations more accessible. It is seeking feedback on whether to focus on upgrading a single, complex central London station, or divide the available resources between small and medium-sized ...
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NewsTanzanian railway project offers accessibility examples for Africa, disability body says
TANZANIA: The SHIVYAWATA federation of disabled people’s organisations says organisations across Africa can learn from the provision of facilities for people with reduced mobility on the Dar es Salaam – Morogoro standard gauge railway. On October 30 the SHIVYAWATA board toured the 202 km first phase ...
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Rail Business UKVirtual reality simulation aims to ‘empower people to use public transport’
UK: A virtual reality simulation is being developed to enable disabled passengers to take simulated journeys where they can experience trains and stations, and interact with on-board staff to find out about the support available. Northern’s Commercial & Customer Director Mark Powles said the aim is ...
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NewsUIC to host Rail Accessibility Day
ACCESSIBILITY: The International Union of Railways is to hold an online Rail Accessibility Day to raise awareness of the importance of inclusion, highlight the efforts being made to improve accessibility and discuss challenges which the industry faces. The event on October 5 will include representatives of ...
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Metro Report InternationalAccessibility training at Lucknow metro
INDIA: Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corp has worked with the Handicare Indian Association of Persons with Disabilities to organise an inclusive public transport workshop to help senior staff as well as new recruits understand the needs of disabled passengers Handicare was established in 1986 as a ...
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Rail Business UKStation navigation technology aims to provide people with the confidence to travel
UK: Briteyellow has been awarded up to £120 000 from the Department for Transport’s Accessibility Transport Research & Innovation Grants programme to develop its BriteWay journey planning and station navigation system which aims to provide disabled people with the confidence to travel.
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Rail Business UKDisabled trainer-led courses for all GTR staff
UK: All customer-facing Govia Thameslink Railway staff have now participated in disability equality courses delivered by experts who are themselves disabled, and the programme is being expanded to all the operator’s staff including the board. The courses are delivered by a company owned by wheelchair-using accessibility ...
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Rail Business UKAssisted boarding points cut assistance notice time to 10 min
UK: South Western Railway is reducing the advance notice needed for assisted travel services to 10 min, with the roll out of assisted boarding points at stations where passengers can contact its customer service centre which will then let the guard on the next available train ...
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Rail Business UKDfT launches rail accessibility programme
UK: The Department for Transport has announced a range of initiatives intended to remove the barriers to public transport faced by disabled people. In the rail sector, work has begin on an audit of all stations to support the development of a public database which, along ...
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NewsFundación ONCE advises Alstom on disability inclusion
ALSTOM: Alstom and Spain’s ONCE Foundation for Co-operation & Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities have renewed a collaboration framework agreement which aims to improve the usability and comfort of trains for people with disabilities and the elderly. Projects which have benefited from the original 2019 ...
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Rail Business UKPassenger information displays incorporate sign language interpretation
UK: Network Rail has begun deploying 20 LB Foster fixed and mobile touch-screen passenger information displays with in-screen British Sign Language interpretation at London Euston station, and a large screen is to be provided beside the departure boards on the main concourse. Network Rail has ...
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Rail Business UKTrain operators improve website accessibility
UK: Reviews undertaken by the Office of Rail & Road and disability charity the Shaw Trust have lead to train and station operators improving the accessibility and provision of information on their websites. ORR’s requirements include providing information on assisted travel, and working towards achieving Website ...
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Rail Business UK‘Unacceptable’ failure to meet train accessibility deadlines
UK: The House of Commons Transport Committee has said that the failure of several operators to meet previous targets to make trains fully accessible is unacceptable, and it has asked the Department for Transport to set out the sanctions that will apply if companies fail to ...
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Metro Report International5G tram to help visually-impaired passengers travel independently
UK: Technology to provide real-time information for visually impaired passengers is being tested on the West Midlands Metro, where a CAF tram and a number of stops have been fitted with 5G equipment in a project being undertaken with the West Midlands 5G group, transport infotainment ...
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Rail Business UKApp to support train crew caring for unwell passengers
UK: Northern is trialling the Unwell Passenger app developed by York-based Incremental Solutions to provide on-train staff with step-by-step instructions to help passengers who become ill or are injured. ‘When a customer is unwell on one of our trains, the onboard member of staff currently has ...
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Metro Report International‘Listen to the City’ train styling brings Mediterranean sunshine to the Marseille metro
FRANCE: The design selected for the driverless rubber tyred metro trains which are to enter service in Marseille from 2023 has been unveiled by manufacturer Alstom, the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence authority and design studio Ora-ïto.
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NewsDisability inclusion priorities for Alstom
ALSTOM: Alstom has joined The Valuable 500 not-for-profit network of CEOs committed to ensuring that disability inclusion features prominently in their leadership agendas. Alstom has committed to increasing the number of employees with disabilities, saying it will pay particular attention to challenging misconceptions about disability and ...