Special wheelchair spaces, inclusive toilets – Hyderabad Metro will change the face of accessible transport!

The Telangana Department for Disabled Welfare is working on making public transport facilities accessible for the disabled. This includes the Hyderabad Metro Rail, that will start operations in a few weeks.

Stations, lifts, ticket counters & trains planned with experts, disabled

Friendly Environment for the Disabled, a national organisation, was asked for suggestions while designing the Hyderabad Metro. They say that based on their observations, this is better planned than the Delhi Metro.

Arrangements have been made to ensure that there is no danger to the lives of the disabled while boarding the train. Lift operating buttons will have information in Braille for the blind and also a tactile strip for easier movement.

There are special wheelchair spaces which will allow wheelchairs to be locked to a ‘grab hold’ in the train. Inclusive toilets are also being built. There is wide automatic fare collection gates for wheelchair passengers while special ticket vending machines for speech impaired people are being designed.

Announcements of train arrival and departure will be made in three languages along with relevant signage and pictograms.