Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB will receive €28 million in funding towards improving the accessibility of the stations as part of its €250 million budget covering the period up to 2024.
Belgium’s Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet unveiled an ambitious new train plan that envisions significant improvements to quality and huge increases in frequencies of trains on all lines, but smaller goals along the way include making travel easier for the disabled, Le Soir reports.
SNCB manages what can be found on the boarding platforms – canopies, benches, lighting, pavement – while Infrabel manages everything below the height of the platforms, namely the rail itself.
Working around planned construction projects
To improve accessibility to certain platforms, SNCB will have to follow the schedule of works planned by Infrabel regarding the standardisation of the height of platforms in each station, which currently varies between 26, 56 and 76 centimetres.
SNCB wanted to make better platform entries and exits for people in wheelchairs or people with strollers, but there’s no point in making changes to those access points if the platform will be demolished in a few months as part of Infrabel’s planned works related to the height standardisation.
After discussions between the two companies, an agreement was reached and it was decided that €28 million would be set aside for increasing accessibility.
“The SNCB will spend about half of this amount on digital accessibility projects,” SNCB has explained.
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These include a new application to facilitate requests for assistance for people with reduced mobility, a QR-code system to help visually impaired people navigate more easily in stations by receiving information on smartphone (with audio description), the integration of a bicycle boarding advice option according to train composition in the travel planner, the modernization of the reservation interface for groups, the development of a new interface and the purchase of vending machines that better respect the needs of people with reduced mobility with, in particular, intercoms and a sound system.
“The other half will be dedicated to raising and equipping platforms,” the railway company said. “Some 15 stations will be renovated to make them more accessible. The location of the work is based on the network infrastructure modernization plans being carried out by Infrabel.”
