In his letter, Presidential Commissioner for the Rights of People with Disabilities Valeriy Sushkevych addressed the Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Railways Yevhen Kravtsov and proposed a number of priority measures, the implementation of which will significantly improve the accessibility of transport infrastructure and railway transport for people with reduced mobility.

Mr. Sushkevych noted that the level of accessibility of transport infrastructure and rail transport remains unsatisfactory. "I personally and tens of thousands of other passengers who use wheelchairs and have visual impairments have to risk their health and lives every time they have to climb numerous flights of stairs at railway stations and railway stations. The issue of using toilets at these stations is also extremely relevant!" emphasized Sushkevych.

The issue of safe boarding and disembarkation of wheelchair users into train cars and comfortable travel in them is extremely acute. Under normal conditions, 0.03-0.04 % of such people can travel by rail at a time.

"I am aware that the transport infrastructure and railway transport need to be reconstructed and updated. Analyzing the situation, I realize that this process is long and expensive. My previous letters to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the allocation of funds in the state budget for the purchase of specialized railcars have not been answered. Realistically assessing the situation in the country, I understand that allocating UAH 3.7 billion from the state budget to purchase the required number of adapted railcars is a difficult issue to resolve. However, the issue of creating a universal design and reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities and other low-mobility groups on the railways is relevant today and needs to be resolved promptly," the letter says.

Valeriy Sushkevych asked us to speed up the finalization of the railway accessibility program being developed by Ukrzaliznytsia JSC and to agree its final version with us and the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine. The relevant proposals were submitted to JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" by the letter of the Ministry of Infrastructure dated 29.11.2018 No. 3903/45/14-18.

The following priority measures, which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, must be included or implemented separately in the said program, are

  • establishing minimum technical requirements for passenger railcars (which would determine the width of doors and aisles in the car, requirements for toilets) to take into account the needs of passengers who use wheelchairs, have musculoskeletal, visual and hearing impairments, which should also be taken into account when procuring the relevant railcars;
  • defining the stages in terms of regional branches:
  • procurement of lifts, elevators, elevating platforms, ramps and their installation at railway stations;
  • equipping stations with tactile (tactile strips, tactile information signs) and visual accessibility elements (contrasting markings, information signs and signs), as well as audio signs;
  • arranging pedestrian crossings (including overpasses) across railroad tracks in such a way that they are convenient and comfortable for people with disabilities who use wheelchairs and have visual impairments.

The Commissioner is convinced that the implementation of these measures will significantly improve the accessibility of transport infrastructure and rail transport.

In his turn, Valeriy Sushkevych is ready to actively cooperate and work out options for resolving the relevant issues and proposed that Ukrzaliznytsia JSC hold a meeting on this issue.

The Commissioner thanked for the cooperation, positive attitude of the Ukrzaliznytsia team to address the painful issues faced by people with disabilities on the railway every day, as well as for the steps taken by Ukrzaliznytsia in this regard. V. Sushkevych expressed special gratitude to O. Krasnoshtan, Director of the Department for the Organization of Domestic and International Passenger Transportation of JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia", for his indifference and professionalism in these issues.

Thus, the introduction by JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" together with the Commissioner and the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine of the possibility of purchasing tickets by this category of people via the Internet was positively noted. "Although there are still some difficulties, many of your predecessors were unable to do this! The introduction of online ticketing has been extremely well received by people with disabilities and contributes to the accessibility of railway services in general!" the letter reads.