(The following Canadian Press article by Louise Elliott was distributed on March 27.)
OTTAWA — Via Rail’s new high-speed trains pose “significant accessibility problems” for people with disabilities, the Canadian Transportation Agency has found.
The federal agency has ordered the Crown corporation to disclose technical information, including what it will cost to fix the trains – which were built in Europe by the French company Alstom – before it rules on whether to force Via to take corrective action. “It’s the first decision ever in Canada saying transportation equipment represents an obstacle or is discriminatory to people with disabilities,” said lawyer David Baker, who filed a complaint with the agency on behalf of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.
“It’s confirmation that disabled people are encountering obstacles — that these are inaccessible trains.”
The ruling could have been avoided if Via had followed the regulations set by the transportation agency, said Baker.
That would have meant not buying the narrow trains from Alstom, which originally designed them for use in the Chunnel between France and Britain, he said.
He added that an earlier ruling by the agency means Via Rail will have to implement changes even if they are more expensive than the cost of retrofitting the cars for Canadian tracks.
Thursday’s ruling found 14 obstacles presented by the passenger cars may be “undue,” including:
— No movable aisle armrests to allow transfer from a wheelchair to a seat in coach cars.
— No seating available for an attendant either beside or facing the area where a wheelchair is secured.
— Inadequate manoeuvring space in the tie-down area.
— The aisle between the two washrooms is too narrow.
— Inadequate space for people using service animals such as seeing-eye dogs.
— The doors into the washrooms of sleeper unit and the accessible units are too narrow.
— There is not enough space beside the toilet to allow a person in a wheelchair to transfer onto the toilet.
In its decision, the agency wrote that “considering the importance of these areas to persons with disabilities, it is clear that the foregoing obstacles have a significant impact on the mobility of persons with disabilities.”
Baker said the ruling shows Via has not performed its duty to ensure persons with disabilities can travel.
“I think it’s terrible corporate citizenship in that it shows a disregard for people with disabilities, a disregard for the guidelines issued by the CTA and a disregard for the taxpayers of Canada who end up footing the bill for the mistakes that were made by Via Rail,” he said.
In the past, Via Rail has defended its decision to purchase the trains on the basis of cost, saying the trains “were a unique purchase unavailable at any other time and at a remarkably low cost of $130 million for 139 passenger rail cars.”
Via spokesman Malcolm Andrews said the company will study the contents and respond to the agency’s requests.
“Via Rail remains committed to providing all Canadians with accessible passenger rail service in accordance with the principles found in the voluntary code of practice signed by Via in 1998.”
The agency also found that 10 alleged obstacles were, in fact, safety concerns under Transport Canada regulations and have been referred to that department. Another eight alleged obstacles were found not to be undue obstacles.