Berths on mail and express trains are now reserved for people with disabilities

Indian Railways makes sure that passengers who travel in trains get the best of services and comfort. To that, the Indian Railways has earmarked lower and middle berths for people with disabilities and their attendants. This type of reservation is already available for the elderly and women travelling alone or with small children.

To provide better facilities for people with disabilities, the Railway Board issued an order on March 31 reserving four berths in Sleeper class (two lower and two middle), two berths in 3 AC (one lower and one middle), and two berths in 3E class (one lower and one middle) for them and their attendants.

Garib Rath trains offer a special provision for people with disabilities to reserve two lower and two upper berths. However, they must pay the full fare to avail of this facility. Apart from that, AC chair car trains will also have two designated seats reserved for people with disabilities, or 'Divyang,' as part of Indian Railways' efforts to ensure their comfortable travel.

Indian Railways offers fare concessions to four different categories of disabled people- orthopedically handicapped/paraplegic persons, mentally retarded individuals who need an escort, completely blind persons, and the totally deaf and dumb travelling alone or with an escort.

The policy aims to promote accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities and is a positive step toward creating a more equitable and accessible transportation system.