In today's world, more and more people with disabilities and reduced mobility are travelling. Like everyone else, they have the same right to safety, comfort and accessibility when they travel. The railway pays close attention to protecting the rights of travellers with disabilities and strives to make rail journeys as comfortable and safe as possible. And to make booking tickets for your trips as easy as possible, remember to use AnyTrain.
As the country's largest carrier, Ukrzaliznytsia has a social responsibility towards its citizens, especially those with disabilities. Its specialists make sure that these passengers can travel conveniently, comfortably and safely.
In this article you will learn about the extra facilities and special conditions the railway offers people with disabilities at stations and on trains.
At Ukrzaliznytsia stations, proper conditions have been created to give people with disabilities and other passengers with reduced mobility unobstructed access to railway facilities (rest areas and rooms, waiting halls, toilets, ticket offices, ramps, buttons to call staff on duty, left-luggage offices, parking spaces, and navigation and wayfinding aids).
Stations have assistance teams for people with disabilities and other passengers with reduced mobility, who provide service and escort and deal with any travel arrangements. The teams include first-aid post staff, station duty officers, senior ticket clerks and other employees involved in serving passengers with disabilities. Passengers are informed about these teams through public address announcements and on information boards and displays.
People with disabilities can now get concessionary tickets online, with their entitlement document verified through the Ministry of Social Policy's central disability database. This online option is available to people with disabilities who belong to the categories of citizens entitled to discounted rail travel without using vouchers.
The staff carriages of passenger trains carry wheelchairs so that people with disabilities can move around inside the carriage. For assistance, contact the train manager or the attendant of the staff carriage.
Travelling around the country in a wheelchair is extremely difficult. That is why Ukrzaliznytsia makes a great effort to make rail travel as easy as possible for people with disabilities: every year the company draws up a plan of measures to create favourable conditions for them.
Ukraine's railways have around 1,500 stations equipped to serve passengers, more than 1,000 of which have ramps. In addition, car parks near stations have been fitted with dropped kerbs and appropriate signs.
Special information aids for people with disabilities are particularly important. These are call buttons installed at a suitable height that connect passengers with ticket offices, left-luggage offices and first-aid posts.
Equally important for passengers with reduced mobility are accessible washrooms in the waiting halls. One example is Kyiv's central station, where the washroom has an accessible toilet, a shower cubicle, a hand dryer and a hair dryer. The rooms are fitted with special handrails.
Walkways are kept clear and special handrails are installed. It should also be noted that no railway facility currently in use lacks proper conditions for people with disabilities to move around safely.
Railway companies are actively purchasing special wheelchairs to help people with disabilities move around station buildings.
Railway staff are also trying to introduce extra services for people with disabilities. For example, at Lviv station a 150-centimetre relief showing the platform number has been placed on the wall of the tunnel stairway to help visually impaired passengers find their way.
Support teams for people with disabilities have been set up at all junction stations. They include first-aid post staff, station employees, senior ticket clerks, porters and baggage office staff. Their tasks include helping people with disabilities buy tickets, board and leave trains, and stay overnight in the room for passengers with disabilities. Railway staff receive special training organised by local associations of people with disabilities.
When a special carriage is booked, a telegram is sent containing the date and time of arrival and the station where a vehicle needs to be arranged. If necessary, railway staff can meet the passenger with a disability and offer assistance.
The special carriages available are equipped with a lift for wheelchair users. Their compartments are wider than in standard carriages and the seats are adjustable. The compartments also have places for carers, and the toilets are adapted accordingly.
All stations have special parking spaces for passengers with disabilities. Stations also have wheelchairs to help people get on and off trains and in and out of cars. If needed, station staff together with medical personnel will meet passengers and escort them to their transport.
The carriages have been designed down to the smallest detail so that people with disabilities do not experience any inconvenience. Train crews can also now board wheelchair users from higher platforms, which until recently was difficult to do.
