Brussels, 18/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 November, the European Commission adopted a new regulation to introduce technical specifications to improve the access to rail travel for persons with disabilities and reduced mobility.
The new rules will be applicable next year and are expected to help improve travelling for people with reduced mobility. European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc, speaking on Twitter, welcomed the fact that European Commission was improving access to stations and trains for these people. She provided assurances that in the future “More people with disabilities or reduced mobility will find it easier to travel by train”.
The regulation includes new technical specificities that provide guarantees for doors to be wider and tactile walking surface indicators to be provided in stations. Member states will also be obliged to ensure that that there is minimum lighting in all train areas, as well as flatter ramps in wheelchair areas.
This regulation is also accompanied by other harmonised technical and operational specificities applicable to infrastructure, energy, rolling stock, traffic operation and telematics applications for passengers and freight services. This will have other benefits, including facilitating the circulation of trains across the EU and meeting essential requirements in terms of safety, reliability and availability, health, environmental protection, technical compatibility and accessibility.
This raft of technical improvements is the result of collaboration between the European Commission, passenger groups and the railway companies. It was warmly welcomed by the Community of European Railways (CER) and CER CEO, Libor Lochman, provided assurances that the European railways would continue to exchange good practices with passenger groups in an effort to continue the regular improvement of their services. (MD)