Enabling Independent Mobility for Wheelchair Users in Railway Vehicles A Multi-stakeholder Dialogue for the Derivation of Requirements for Vehicle Boarding Aids

Abstract

A data-driven analysis of Germany’s rail mainline network revealed frequent board-ing situations with mismatched platform and vehicle entrance heights, undermining the principle of maximum independence in personal mobility (Art. 20 UN CRPD) of persons with reduced mobility (PRM). Over the next decades, platform height harmo-nization in Germany will only be achieved at 760 and 550 mm, requiring additional measures, including adapting heights of vehicle entries, implementing platforms with multiple heights, and using boarding aids (BA) such as ramps or lifts. It is crucial that vehicle BA be designed for independent use by wheelchair users without causing de-lays that compromise time-efficient travel for other passengers or affect operators’ schedules. The technical adaptation of both BA and vehicles must be feasible and economically efficient. To achieve this, a stakeholder consultation was conducted in-volving passenger and disability associations, vehicle and BA manufacturers, rail op-erators, and standardization experts. Discussions covered boarding scenarios, existing BA, best practices from the urban transport sector, and regulatory constraints. The aim was to create a stakeholder-derived requirement catalogue for independently useable BA to guide future tender processes, rolling stock retrofitting decisions, and the fur-ther development of technical standards.