Title - No room for disabled on trains

Chennai: Disabled passengers are unable to board the special compartment provided for them in trains since it is jam-packed with families travelling during the summer holidays. A separate queue for disabled persons in many stations is also invaded all the time by ‘normal’ persons. The parking lot for the disabled at Egmore railway station is encroached upon and the information boards thrown out long ago. In short, train journey are a nightmare for many disabled persons.

Last week, disabled passenger M. Deepak (32) missed the train from Chennai Central to Erode as the parking area for the disabled was taken up by vendors and he had to walk back all the way from Moore Market where he left his vehicle. By the time he reached the platform the train had left.

Physically challenged Rajeshwari is fed up with waiting in long queues to get tickets. “The very thought of travelling by train is sickening. ‘Normal’ persons do not understand that the exclusive counter for disabled persons should not be misused.

When we enter the station, climbing the narrow steps to reach the platform is another torture,” she said. Like Deepak and Rajeshwari hundreds of disabled passengers suffer untold misery. There have been cases where normal persons have attacked the disabled passengers when they questioned why they were occupying seats in the disabled compartment.

“We file complaints with the station master. We inform the helpline and even send mails and letters to the Union railway minister. But all the responses end up as token reactions and no sustainable efforts have been taken to ensure that disabled persons travel safely,” said P. Simmachandran, secretary, Tamil Nadu Differently-abled Federation Charitable Trust.

Railway officials maintain that they take action on specific complaints. They promise that they will take immediate steps on complaints from disabled passengers.