Metro Rail to be disabled-friendly

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) has made arrangements and provided facilities for disabled persons who can also freely board in Metro rail once it is operational.Be it wheelchair-bound passengers, visually impaired or those with hearing, speech or cognitive disabilities, it is now possible for everyone to get around. The HMRL opened the world for people with disabilities. And it makes a good business sense, according to its officials.

“In designing the stations, lifts, fare gates and ticket vending machines, we have made it possible for the disabled to transcend their physical limitations,” said HMRL Managing Director, NVS Reddy. In tune with this vision, the Concessionaire L&TMRHL provided a barrier-free environment for the physically and the visually challenged and even the elderly persons using the rail system. Right from the moment one approaches the Metro station, the disabled can enjoy facilities like a ramp provided at the road level to facilitate wheelchairs up to the lifts. For easy manoeuvrability and accommodation of wheelchairs, spacious lifts are being provided with hand rails inside for the elderly and disabled persons.

Lift operating buttons will have information in Braille at all levels of the station for the convenience of the blind persons. A tactile strip being provided from the street level till the edge of the platform guides the blind persons in navigating their way by tapping the floor with their white canes. “Wheelchair-bound passengers will not encounter any problem getting into the train as care is being taken in maintaining the gap between the platform and train floor. Even the blind persons will not run the risk of getting their feet accidentally trapped in the opening between the platform and the train door,” said NVS Reddy.

Once in, the wheelchairs can be locked to a special ‘grab hold’ in the train in the designated wheelchair spaces. Every station will have special toilet with grab bars and supports to help the physically challenged persons. Wide automatic fare collection gates are provided for wheelchair passengers. For those with speech impairment, ticket vending machines are being designed to help them.

This apart, signage with high contrast levels is being designed to aid partially blind passengers and those with cognitive disabilities. Further, to help the illiterate and the disabled, there will be pictograms along with signage for easy access of different areas of the station and trains. The HMRL has planned to make announcements in three languages to help those who can’t see and read. The announcements will give information about the next station, the platform side on which the door will open and other safety guidelines, NVS Reddy stated.

“For years, disabled persons have relied on somebody else to do things for them. Now the Hyderabad Metro has made it possible for them to do away with any kind of assistance when they travel by the Metro rail,” he said.