There should be 42 new disabled-friendly stations by the end of the year
Published: Friday, Jun 21st 2024, 12:10
Volver a Live Feed
By the end of the year, 42 more train stations and stops are to be adapted for the disabled. This will mean that 1131 of the approximately 1800 stops will have been adapted. In three and a half years, 87 percent of passengers should be able to travel spontaneously and autonomously by train.
According to the 2024 status report published by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) on Friday, a total of 217 additional stations and stops should be adapted for the disabled by the end of 2027. This means that around 80 percent of the 1629 stations that must be able to be used autonomously and spontaneously will have been adapted by then.
Conversion would be disproportionate for around 158 of the 1,800 stops, partly because there are very few passengers. However, permanent alternative measures would have to be offered there. This would include assistance from railroad staff. A further 20 or so stations have been closed until the end of 2023 due to the adjustment of services.
Target not achieved
The railroads were supposed to have converted all of their stations and stops to make them accessible to people with disabilities by the end of 2023. However, this target was not achieved in many cases. By the end of the deadline, only 1,089 stops in Switzerland were accessible to people with reduced mobility.
The responsibility for this lies with the railroads, wrote the FOT. The reasons given were a lack of resources in terms of planning, personnel, lack of time slots or lack of financial resources. For 323 stations or stops, for example, the adjustments could only be implemented after 2027 "despite repeated intervention by the FOT".
All people who use public transport benefit from disabled-accessible stations, the FOT continued. In addition to people with reduced mobility, this also includes senior citizens, passengers with a lot of luggage, baby carriages and injured passengers.
©Keystone/SDA
Spanish 
English 
German 
French 
Arabic