Nov 11: China's Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday that at least 5 tickets will be available for disabled passengers on all high-speed and ordinary trains, and the plan is scheduled to come into effect at the end of November, Beijing News reports.

An official from the Railways Ministry said that the construction of special seats and berths for physically disabled passengers is underway. Specially designed seats and berths will be located next to toilets and doors for the convenience of disabled passengers.

In addition, other facilities, including specially designed platform walkways and train corridors for blind people, elevators and ramps, will be constructed over the next 2 to 3 years. According to the major statistics of the 2nd China National Sample Survey on Disability in 2006, the Chinese disabled population reached 82,960,000, accounting for 6.34 percent of the total population in China.

Disabled passengers will be able to purchase tickets by providing their certificates of disability, and designated ticket outlets intended for disabled passengers will be built at railway stations in large cities, the official said.

The ministry demands that each railway bureau should provide disabled passengers with assistance and privileges when traveling on China's rail network.

Source: http://english.cri.cn