Lok Sabha Question No. 313 (STARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Disabled/Divyang Friendly Stations
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: KIRRON KHER, SAVITRI THAKUR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 313 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## DISABLED/DIVYANG FRIENDLY STATIONS

*313. SHRIMATI KIRRON KHER: SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  the  provisions  made  to  improve/provide  ramps, wheelchairs  and  other  disabled-friendly facilities at the railway stations and in trains;

(b)  whether  the  Government  plans  to  maintain  facilities  for  persons with  disabilities  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  funds spent on making the Railways disabled-friendly during each of the last three years and the current year;

- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  received  complaints  regarding railway  services  being  disabled-unfriendly,  if  so,  the  details  thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;

(d)  whether  the  Railways  proposes  to  develop  'B'  category  railway stations across the country as Divyang-friendly stations and if so,  the details of the stations identified for this purpose, zone-wise; and

(e) whether escalators and lifts are being installed at all the railway stations in the country to facilitate the senior citizens to reach upto foot over bridges and if so, the details of the railway stations in the country where these facilities have been provided so far?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COAL, FINANCE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF STARRED  QUESTION  NO.313  BY  SHRIMATI  KIRRON  KHER  AND SHRIMATI  SAVITRI  THAKUR  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 08.08.2018 REGARDING DISABLED/DIVYANG FRIENDLY STATIONS

(a) and (b):  Indian Railways is committed to make India friendly and accessible  for Persons  with  Disabilities (Divyangjan) as part of 'Sugamya Bharat Mission' or Accessible India Campaign of Government  of  India.    Improvement/augmentation  of  amenities  at Railway stations, including those for differently abled passengers is a continuous process. Provisions of facilities for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) are to be provided at all stations over Indian Railways.    In  order  to  provide  better  accessibility  to  Persons  with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Short Term  Facilities and  Long  Terms Facilities  have  been  planned  at  all  stations,  beginning  with  Non Suburban Group 'NSG 1', 'NSG 2', 'NSG 3' & 'NSG 4' (erstwhile 'A-1', 'A' & 'B') category stations.  The details of Railway stations provided with facilities as on 31.05.2018  for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) under all categories of stations over Indian Railways are as under:-

|   S.No. | Facility for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)                                        |   Approximate number of stations, where facility provided |
|---------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Standard ramp for barrier free entry                                                       |                                                      2586 |
|       2 | Earmarking at least two parking lots                                                       |                                                      1429 |
|       3 | Non-slippery walk-way from parking lot to station building                                 |                                                      1465 |
|       4 | Signages of appropriate visibility                                                         |                                                      1474 |
|       5 | At least one drinking water tap suitable for use by Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) |                                                      1989 |
|       6 | At least one toilet (on the ground floor)                                                  |                                                      1908 |
|       7 | May I help you booth                                                                       |                                                      1131 |

Long-term facilities are to be provided for Divyangjan at 'NSG-1' to 'NSG-4' categories of stations, which are as follows:-

|   1 | Engraving on edges of platforms                   |   1816 |
|-----|---------------------------------------------------|--------|
|   2 | Provision of facility for inter-platform transfer |   1288 |

Zonal Railways have been instructed to provide one wheelchair per platform and in case of island platforms one wheel chair per two platforms at all erstwhile 'A-1' and 'A' category stations.

Yatri  Mitra  Sewa  has  also  been  introduced  at  major  Railway stations  for  enabling  passengers  to  book  wheelchairs  services  cum porter services free of cost through NGOs, Charitable trust, PSUs etc under  CSR  and  responsibility  of  providing  this  facility  has  been entrusted  with  IRCTC.  In  case  of  lack  of  response  from  NGOs, Charitable trust, PSUs etc., this service may be arranged on payment basis through a service provider or on its own.

Passenger can book e-wheelchairs online through IRCTC portal www.irctc.co.in. The facility is presently, available at 22 stations i.e. Ahmedabad, Agra Cantt., Vadodara, Varanasi, Bhusawal, Vijayawada, Kanpur Central, Mumbai CST, Mumbai Central, Howrah, Indore, Jhansi, Jaipur, Lucknow Jn., Lucknow, New Delhi, Nagpur, Pathankot Cantt., Pune,  Bengaluru  City,  Secunderabad  and  Shri  Mata  Vaishno  Devi Katra.

Passengers can book cab/coach & porter service online through IRCTC portal www.irctc.co.in. The facility is available at Chandigarh, Gaya, Guntur, Howrah, Jaipur, Lucknow, Lucknow Jn., Madurai, New Delhi,  Delhi  Jn.,  Hazarat  Nizamuddin,  Delhi  Safdarjung,  Anand  Vihar, Delhi Cantt., Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Tirupati and Vijaywada.

Further,  Zonal  Railways  have  been  authorized  to  introduce Battery  Operated  Vehicles  (BOVs)  at  major  railway  stations  for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan),  elderly and ailing passengers on 'first come first served' basis through sponsorship from individuals, NGOs, Trusts, Charitable institutions, Corporates and PSUs/Corporate Houses under their Corporate Social Responsibility free of charge to passenger  or  to  the  Railway.  Further,  instructions  have  also  been issued to Zonal Railways to invite Expression of Interest for providing the facility of Battery Operated Car service on payment basis initially at all 'A1' category stations keeping in view the financial sustainability of  the  service.  This  facility  can  be  availed  by  passengers  on  'first come  first  served'  basis,  however,  preference  shall  be  given  to  Sr. Citizens, Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan),, pregnant women and medically sick passengers.

Disabled friendly SLRD coaches of Integral Coach Factory (ICF) design  are  available  in  the  holding  of  Indian  Railways  (IR).  These coaches  have  a  suitably  designed  compartment  &  toilet  adapted  to the needs of the disabled / Divyang passengers. Further, the fully air conditioned (WRRMDAC) Garib Rath trains have been provided with an air-conditioned disabled friendly compartment in the power cars. For Linke  Hofmann  Busch  (LHB)  coaches,  the  coach  design  having  a compartment for the disabled/Divyang passengers has been developed and the coach is likely to be manufactured by the Production Units in 2018.

It is endeavored to have at least one disabled friendly ICF design coach  in  each  Mail  /  Express  train  running  with  ICF  coaches.  More disabled  friendly  coaches  shall  be  added  to  the  fleet  of  IR  in  the coming years on LHB design.

In  the  Accounting  and  Budgeting  system  of  Indian  Railways there is no specific head meant for allocation towards Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).  In Capital segment of Budget, works relating facilities/amenities  for  travelling  public,  including  those  for  Persons with  Disabilities  (Divyangjan)  like  provision  of  escalators,  elevators, ramps  etc.    are  taken  up  under  Plan  Head  -  Passenger  Amenities', while arrangement in coaches for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) passengers are done under Plan Head - 'Rolling Stock'. However, these figures are not amenable to segregation.  Funds for approximately ` 1657.86 crores have been allocated under Plan Head Passenger Amenities' for the financial year 2018-19.

The expenditure on development of Passenger Amenities works including  those  for  Persons  with  Disabilities  (Divyangjan)  at  Railway Stations is generally funded under Plan Head - 'Passenger Amenities'. Zone-wise details of expenditure (Gross) under this Plan Head during the last three years and current year is as under:-

( ` in Crores)

| Zonal Railway      |   2015-16 |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |   2018-19 Expenditure Upto June,2018 |
|--------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------------------------------------|
| Central            |     78.74 |     72.88 |    161.89 |                                24.67 |
| Eastern            |     62.98 |     48.26 |     50.73 |                                 4.66 |
| East Central       |     63.75 |     65.81 |     74.11 |                                21.95 |
| East Coast         |     57.46 |     56.31 |     59.85 |                                15.17 |
| Northern           |    109.33 |     86.28 |    170.98 |                                30.04 |
| North Central      |     52.62 |     59.94 |     66.56 |                                22.76 |
| North Eastern      |     71.94 |    108.28 |     91.44 |                                19.17 |
| Northeast Frontier |     54.09 |     45.81 |     38.16 |                                 3.08 |
| North Western      |     66.07 |     55.97 |     68.63 |                                12.28 |

| Southern           |   95.91 |   68.41 |   102.19 |   6.67 |
|--------------------|---------|---------|----------|--------|
| South Central      |   94.82 |   68.36 |    63.81 |   8.33 |
| South Eastern      |   65.6  |   59.05 |    81.95 |   9.42 |
| South East Central |   31.38 |   31.94 |    23.5  |   5.48 |
| South Western      |   60.22 |   41.96 |    49.61 |   3.06 |
| Western            |   49.61 |   48.2  |   134.8  |  21.85 |
| West Central       |   63.5  |   43.19 |    44.44 |   8.14 |
| Metro              |    3.19 |    5.59 |     3.89 |   0.15 |
| TOTAL              | 1081.21 |  966.78 |  1286.54 | 216.88 |

- (c) A total 1,66,706 complaints were received during financial year 2017-18  through  Complaint  Management  System(COMS)  Portal.    The various heads for categorization of complaints through COMS portal is Appended.  However, no separate data is maintained regarding railway services being disabled unfriendly.
- (d) There  were  709  'A-1',  'A'  &  'B'  category  stations  (erstwhile) catering  to  the  bulk  of  passenger  traffic  on  Indian  Railways  out  of which 670 stations have been provided with all Short-Term Facilities and 639 stations have been provided with all Long-Term Facilities.  As per  new  categorization  of  stations,  there  are  611  stations  falling  in 'NSG 1' to 'NSG 4' categories.
- (e) In order to facilitate easy movement of elderly, sick and Persons with  Disabilities  (Divyangjan)  and  for  smooth  access  to  platforms  at major railway stations, escalators/lifts are provided as part of 'Sugamya Bharat Mission'. So far, 498 escalators at 185 stations and 371 lifts at 150 stations have been provided.

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APPENDIX  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  OF  STARRED QUESTION  NO.313  BY  SHRIMATI  KIRRON  KHER  AND  SHRIMATI SAVITRI  THAKUR  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  08.08.2018 REGARDING DISABLED/DIVYANG FRIENDLY STATIONS

## (c)   Cause-wise Statement of complaints received through Complaints

Management System Portal (www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in)

(01 April 2017 to 31 March 2018)

|   SI. No. | Causes                                    |   Total No. of Complaints |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
|         1 | Publicity                                 |                       115 |
|         2 | Security                                  |                       877 |
|         3 | Accident Claims                           |                       208 |
|         4 | Parking                                   |                       497 |
|         5 | Tour package service related grievances   |                         3 |
|         6 | Improper behavior of Commercial Staff     |                      3655 |
|         7 | Improper behavior of Non Commercial Staff |                      1158 |
|         8 | Improper behavior of Non Railway Staff    |                       951 |
|         9 | Passenger Booking                         |                      2594 |
|        10 | Reservation Issues                        |                      3859 |
|        11 | Allotment of seats/berths by train staff  |                      3846 |
|        12 | Refund of tickets                         |                     11679 |
|        13 | Unauthorised passenger in coaches         |                      7711 |
|        14 | Booking of Luggage/Parcels/Goods          |                      4821 |
|        15 | Working of Enquiry Offices                |                      1446 |
|        16 | Non availability of water                 |                     10422 |
|        17 | Catering & Vending Services               |                     12185 |
|        18 | Cleanliness at stations                   |                      2318 |

| 19   | Maintenance/cleanliness of coaches     |   25363 |
|------|----------------------------------------|---------|
| 20   | Malfunctioning of Electrical Equipment |   21489 |
| 21   | Punctuality of Train                   |   35793 |
| 22   | Complaint related to Sleeper Class     |    2163 |
| 23   | Thefts/Pilferages                      |    3471 |
| 24   | Bribery & Corruption                   |    2397 |
| 25   | Bedroll Complaints                     |    6814 |
| 26   | Emergency Assistance                   |     183 |
| 27   | WIFI services                          |     165 |
| 28   | Retiring Room (ONLINE)                 |     523 |
|      | TOTAL                                  |  166706 |

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