OREANDA-NEWS. May 07, 2014. 14 long-distance trains operated by the Federal Passenger Company, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, have been equipped with "Start" special wheelchairs for passengers with limited mobility.

These wheelchairs will enable passengers with limited mobility to travel not only in the compartment for the disabled in the carriage equipped with lifts and a specialised toilet (staff car), but also to take advantage of the lower berths in all the carriage's compartments.

This new service is aimed at enabling journeys of more than one wheelchair user or of groups of passengers with disabilities in the staff carriage.

"Start" wheelchairs are now available on trains plying the most popular routes among passengers with low mobility and which connect Moscow and St. Petersburg with destinations for treatment, rehabilitation and recreation:

No. 30/29 Kaliningrad – Moscow,
No. 35/36 St. Petersburg – Adler,
No. 271/272 St. Petersburg – Evpatoria,
No. 87/88 Nizhny Novgorod – Adler,
No. 1/2/102/101 Kazan – Moscow – Adler,
No. 116/115 Adler – St. Petersburg,
No. 27/28 Kislovodsk – Moscow,
No. 4/3 Kislovodsk – Moscow,
No. 44/43 Novorossiysk – St. Petersburg,
No. 30/29 Novorossiysk – Moscow,
No. 13/14 Saratov – Volgograd – Adler,
No. 7/8/84/83 Perm – Moscow – Priobe.

On the rail network, 457 staff carriages equipped with compartments for passengers with disabilities are operating currently, including those staff cars in the formation of double-decker train number 104/103 Moscow - Adler.

Staff carriages are equipped with similar compartments on all branded Federal Passenger Company trains. One specialised two-berth compartment is designed for a passenger with disabilities and an accompanying person.

In 2014, it is planned to put 12 such carriages into operation and convert one carriage to this type of carriage.