Nagpur: The Nagpur Division of Central Railway has added one more facility at the station for specially abled passengers by procuring a
wheelchair lift, which lands you straight near your compartment berth.
“This is the first battery-operated wheelchair lift procured from Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) across the Central Railway in the state. It has been bought under CSR project. Its cost is Rs3 lakh. It would benefit passengers immensely,” said senior divisional railway manager (SrDCM) KK Mishra.
On manpower to run the vehicle, Mishra added that even the manual wheelchairs are being operated by coolies. “It has a very simple technique. We will train coolies in phases, who will handle the vehicle,” he said.
“The vehicle will be powered by rechargeable batteries and can be driven and operated by most people with ease. Once charged, the vehicle operates for 25km,” says Bhargav Sundaram, chief executive of Callidai Motor Works, Gummidipoondi in Chennai, which manufactures the vehicle.
“While Nagpur is first to get it, one each wheelchair lift will be supplied at eight other stations including Chennai, Delhi, Bhopal, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, Vijaywada and Nizamuddin,” says IRCTC area manager Ahad Siddiqui.
TOI witnessed the demo at the station on Friday. The vehicle features a platform that can move upwards and downwards with the assistance of a motor which will also derive power from the battery pack. A belt winch mechanism assists in lifting and lowering of the platform.
The platform will include a wheelchair that would be tied down to the platform using suitable restraints, and passengers can either use this wheelchair as a seat or as a regular wheelchair.
Sundaram says this modified wheelchair can be removed and any standard wheelchair used by the passengers can also be used on this lifting platform to get into the coach reserved for wheelchair users.
Also, if a specially abled passenger wants to get into any compartment, this can be achieved using the modified wheelchair that will be supplied along with the vehicle.
The wheelchair can be rolled ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the train. It has been designed to move in narrow spaces (as in aisles of trains).
On its operation, Sundaram says little effort is required to drive the vehicle as it will be operated by use of a joystick. It would take not more than a few hours for an operator to get used to driving this vehicle.
