Accessibility at Busy Indian Rail Station Criticized

G plus recently criticized accessibility at the busy Guwahati Railway Station (GRS) in the Northeast Indian state of Assam, observing there are too few lifts and that both lifts and escalators are shut off at certain times of the day. Described as “the busiest and largest railway station in Northeast India,” GRS is served by 15 escalators and four elevators. However, the source said, the southern entrance at the Paltan Bazaar lacks a lift. A GRS spokesman says a lift is being planned at that entrance. Further, the source says, lifts and escalators are turned off after midnight, hindering accessibility for disabled and elderly passengers who arrive “from far-flung locations” in the wee hours. Northeast Frontier Railway officials say they plan to provide additional lifts and escalators at GRS. Per the Accessible India Campaign, doing so is “the need of the hour,” the source states.