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 multi-gauge,
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 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

(in Millions) Year
Railways 5093 4971 5112 5475
Airlines 1281 1332 1454 1817
 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
• Scattered residential 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 Billion passengers Year

Japan 22.67 2010

India 8.03 2010
Germany 1.95 2010
People's Republic of China 1.86 2011
United Kingdom 1.33 2010
France 1.14 2009
Russia 1.14 2009
South Korea 1.06 2010
Italy 0.64 2009
Spain 0.57 2010
South Africa 0.53 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 adapting those to meet the needs of people in India is far from reality.
 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 India’s
total disabled population at approximately Census 2011 – Campaign by
six per cent or 70 million Svayam in association with
Census of India

 As per the recent World Bank report, India

has some 40 to 80 million people with
disabilities

 Census 2011 report still awaited

 Population trend: India
 Senior Citizens comprise 5% of
India’s 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 India’s 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 Accessible toilet at the platform

Drinking Water counters at two levels Placement of tactile warning and guiding
blocks
 Accessible Features at Railway Station, New Delhi

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 Accessible toilet in the waiting room

Ramp being used by coolies 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 differently-abled
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 other areas at stations for differently-abled persons.”
 So called accessible coaches

Overcrowding in the coach for disabled Toilets in the coach for disabled people

Person with locomotive disability finding Level difference of the platform and
it difficult to enter the train due to high the coach does not facilitate
steps independent and dignified access
 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 people’s 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 policy making

and planning at international and national levels.
A nation's development is also measured by the ease
with which it integrates elderly & disabled into the
mainstream society.
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