Wheelchairs, concessional e-tickets to Mitra Sewa: Indian Railways services that Divyangjans can avail
Here's how Indian Railways is making things better for differently-abled persons. Specially designed coaches, concessional tickets and reservation quota are some of the facilities offered. Railway stations made more accessible by wheelchairs, battery-operated vehicles and Yatri Mitra Sewa.
The Indian Railways is offering various facilities for Divyangjans to make its services more convenient and accessible for differently-abled passengers on trains and platforms. Here's how Railways is contributing to easing accessibility for people who are differently-abled. Encouraged by ‘Accessible India Campaign’ launched in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian Railways have been providing facilities/services to Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) so as to enable them a barrier-free transportation across the Railway network. To make its services more convenient and accessible to differently-abled passengers (Divyangjans) at railway stations, Indian Railways offers the following facilities for the Divyangjans.
Specially designed coaches known as SLRD coaches with wider entrance doors to allow a wheelchair to enter, wider aisles, modified toilet and with 4 berths, the lower two for persons with disability and upper berths for attendants have been attached in almost all Mail/express trains except Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi Express trains and Duranto Express trains.
Mail trains to have specially designed separate coach for people with disability
Instructions have been issued that in all mail/express trains, the SLRD coaches should be treated as unreserved coaches earmarked for the exclusive use of persons with disability. In case of Garib Rath express trains which are fully reserved trains, these coaches are treated as reserved for booking by persons with disability (Divyangjans) travelling on the prescribed certificate on payment of a full fare of 3 AC class of Garib Rath Express on the first-come-first-served basis.
Separate counters are earmarked at various Passenger Reservation System(PRS) centres for dealing with the reservation requisitions received from Persons with Disability and Senior Citizens if the average demand per shift is not less than 120 tickets wherever feasible. ln case there is no justification for earmarking of an exclusive counter for any of these categories of persons including handicapped persons, one or two counters depending upon the total demand are earmarked for dealing with the reservation requests for all these categories of persons.
A reservation quota of four sleeper class berths and two berths in 3 AC has been earmarked in all trains running on non-suburban sections for persons with a disability performing their journey on a concessional ticket. The person accompanying the person with a disability as an escort is also allotted the berth out of this quota.
Instructions have also been issued that in the tickets issued through PRS, to the extent feasible, one lower berth should be allotted to persons with a disability and the person accompanying the person with a disability as escort should be allotted middle/upper berth near the person with disability subject to availability of accommodation.
After departure of train, if there are vacant lower berths available in the train and if any person with disability booked on the authority of concessional ticket, who has been allotted upper/middle berth, approaches for allotment of vacant lower berths, the Conductor/Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) has been authorized to allot the vacant lower berth to them after making necessary entries in the chart.
The facility to book concessional e-tickets online using the photo-identity card issued by Railways has also been introduced to facilitate persons with disability.
Concession in fares that Indian Railways offers to Persons with Disability
|
Category of person |
Element of Concession |
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|
Single Journey Ticket |
Season Ticket |
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|
I CLASS |
II CLASS |
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|
1.Orthopedically Handicapped/Paraplegic persons who can’t travel without an escort |
|
50% |
50% |
|
2. Mentally retarded persons who can’t travel without an escort |
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3. Persons with visual impairment with the total absence of sight travelling alone or with an escort. |
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4. Persons with hearing and speech impairment totally (both afflictions together in the same person) travelling alone or with escort. |
|
50% |
50% |
Special facilities for differently-abled persons at stations
- Wheelchair on platforms (Free of Cost)
- Sahayaks can be hired on nominal rates to escort the Divyangjans
- Yatri Mitra sewa is also available. While a Sahayak provided by IRCTC assists the person with disability by providing wheel chair cum porter services at major stations. The Yatri Mitra seva service can be booked on IRCTC e-ticketing website and 139 (IVRS and SMS) or through a mobile
- Battery operated Vehicle (BOV) vehicles are available at some stations
Indian Railways has also planned following facilities at Non-suburban Grade (NSG)1 to NSG 4 category stations
- Provision of the facility for inter-platform transfer
- Engraving on edges of platforms
(Information as provided by the Indian Railways and PIB)