New Rule Strengthens Protections for Americans with Disabilities at Rail Stations

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that individuals with disabilities will have greater access to intercity, commuter and high-speed train travel as a result of a new rule requiring new station platform construction or significant renovation to enable those with disabilities to get on and off any car on a train.

“This will help give passengers with disabilities better access to rail travel across the country,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “By putting this protection in place, passengers with disabilities will be able to get on and off any accessible car that is available to passengers at a new or altered station platform.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is amending its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to require intercity, commuter and high-speed passenger railroads to ensure, at new and significantly renovated station platforms, that passengers with disabilities can get on and off any accessible car of the train.  Passenger railroads must provide level-entry boarding at new or altered stations in which no track passing through the station and adjacent to platforms is shared with existing freight rail operations. 

For new or altered stations in which track shared with existing freight rail operations precludes compliance, passenger railroads will be able to choose among a variety of means to meet a performance standard to ensure that passengers with disabilities can access each accessible train car that other passengers can board at the station. These options include providing car-borne lifts, station-based lifts, or mini-high platforms. 

The Department will review a railroad’s proposed method to ensure that it provides reliable and safe services to individuals with disabilities in an integrated manner. 

The rule also requires that transit providers carry a wheelchair and occupant if the lift and vehicle can physically accommodate them, unless doing so is inconsistent with legitimate safety requirements.  In addition, it codifies the existing DOT mechanism for issuing ADA guidance and makes minor technical changes to the Department’s ADA rules.

The Final Rule is available at http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2011-23576_PI.pdf.

 

Announcing Amtrak 2011 Improvements to Access

We are excited to announce we are at the very beginning of a long adventure with Open Doors and Amtrak, who signed an agreement on Monday to train nearly 8000 employees in 17 cities throughout the United States. 

The Open Doors Organization (ODO) works tirelessly to improve access across the board in the travel industry, having spent the last year building an amazing Airline Ground Crew training program, collaborating with the Mobility Shop to educate tarmak employees on how to handle wheelchairs and mobility equipment efficiently, safely, and without damage.  Craig has been one of ODO's main trainers for this program for the last six months and has heard some great and amazing feedback from 40-year veterans who've simply never gotten training such as this.  What started out as a program with just a few airlines, this program has such good feedback, that most national and some international airlines are now receiving this training.

ODO also works with the airlines on their Complaint Resolution Officer (CRO) training program and recently begun working with Celebrity Cruiselines on assessing their ships and creating a training program for their employees as well.

So it seems natural to carry this expertise and training over to the Amtrak system, covering all the bases of national travel!  I headed down to Delaware this week for our first initial planning meeting to set up training dates and begin building the curriculum; we begin training in January!

Seeing the country via train is going to make for a fascinating year, and we're thrilled to be a part of this amazing training that will encompass the largest group of employees that ODO has taken on.

Making this training interesting for the employees always involves stories, so if you have a personal story about traveling on Amtrak and/or the accessibility of this mode of travel, please email them to ask@accessanything.net.

Stay tuned for many in-station reports coming next year!

Colorado Trains and Accessibility

Colorado has some of the greatest narrow-gauge and peak-climbing railroads in the country. Despite their historic status, all have been equipped with accessibility to the tee! Perfect 1-day or 2-day trips from Denver, the state’s top three trains are located in Colorado Springs, Durango, and Antonito at the border of New Mexico.

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Antonito

Open May 23 to October 18 this year, this “living museum” dates back to 1880 and was part of the Rio Grande Railway, serving the silver mining distric in the San Juan mountains. The train use diminished considerably between 1920 and 1960 and the tracks were nearly abandoned and dismantled in 1969. But a local movement to save the railroad brought in monies and tourists to the area, sustaining the railroad since then. The ride is 64 miles long, from Chama to Antonito, and has several departures a day. It dubs itself “America’s longest and highest steam-operated train” and has wheelchair lifts up to the accessible coaches.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum, Durango

Open May 2 through October 31 this year, this beautiful scenic ride is along the Animas River from Durango to Silverton and offers motorcoach rides back if you don’t want another 3-hour ride through the canyon. Also dating back to the 1880s with the Rio Grande Railway, the train faced many challenges with physical and financial stability and risked losing part of its tracks during war eras when monies and focus was elsewhere. Registered as historic in the 1960s, and given additional attention from filming Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969, the narrow gauge gained momentum for tourism and has been sustained by it since then. The fully coal-steam operated train has an accessible car with restroom and a motorized lift mechanism to get you in.

Pike’s Peak Cog Railway, Colorado Springs

Just an hours drive from Denver, this is the only train in the state open year round, and climbs the old carriage road from the 1880s to the top of this 14,000 foot peak which is the site for the inspiration of the song “America the Beautiful.” The train climbs up from 6500 feet and 9 miles for a three hour round-trip. A big red warning of altitude sickness fills one of the pages on their website, and is to be taken seriously by those who have traveled from sea-level locations. The train stops at the top for 30 minutes of views and snacking before returning down, and has a roll-in entry and accessible bathroom in both the depot and the summit house but not on the train.

This post was duplicated from our Examiner's page, please check it out!