The Ministry of Railways has approved quotas for people with disabilities (PwDs) in all trains, irrespective of whether any concessional fare facility is available or not.
According to railway sources, the PwD quota will be earmarked in all reserved Express/Mail trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Humsafar, Gatimaan, and Vande Bharat express trains.
Also read | PIL plea to make railway stations, coaches universally accessible
According to the revised norms, the quota will be: four berths in Sleeper Class (two lower and two middle), four berths in Three Tier AC, 3E or 3A, (two lower and two middle), four berths in the Specially Designed Second Class Luggage cum Guard (SLRD) coaches of Garib Rath trains, four seats in reserved Second Class sitting and AC Chair Car in those trains which have more than two coaches of these classes, and four seats in Vande Bharat trains.
Specially designed seats
The sources added that two specially designed seats (Seat No. 40) will be available for PwDs in coaches C1 and C7 in the case of eight-car trains, and C1 and C14 in 16-car trains, along with an additional adjacent seat for an escort or attender in Vande Bharat Express trains.
To avoid misuse of the provision, the facility of booking tickets under the PWD quota online will only be available to people who have been issued with Unique Identity Cards by Indian Railways. To book tickets at reservation counters, the facility will be extended on the production of a Unique Identity Card or the copy of the concessional certificate in the prescribed format.
The Centre for Railway Information Systems, the IT arm of the railways, was told to modify its computerised reservation software to ensure the verification of Unique Idenitity Cards even in those trains where concessional fare facility is not available.
Undecided on concessions for seniors
In case both of the specially designed seats earmarked for PWDs in Vande Bharat express trains are booked, but one or both of the seats reserved for their accompanying escorts remained vacant, such vacant seat or seats will also be allotted to a passenger with a disability.
Under the old guidelines, PWDs and their escorts were provided accommodation under the quota only in those trains which allowed booking tickets with fare concessions, the sources said. They added that no decision has been taken yet on restoring the rail travel concession to senior citizens and other categories of passengers who were given concessional fares before the pandemic.
