Proposition 54K1011

Proposition de résolution visant à améliorer la qualité du transport ferroviaire pour les voyageurs à mobilité réduite.

General information ¶

Authors

CD&V Franky Demon, Roel Deseyn, Jef Van den Bergh, Veli Yüksel
MR Caroline Cassart-Mailleux, Gilles Foret
N-VA Inez De Coninck
Open Vld Sabien Lahaye-Battheu, Nele Lijnen

Submission date

April 2, 2015

Official page

Visit

Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

facilities for the disabled disabled person resolution of parliament rail transport

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

Groen CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP DéFI ∉ Open Vld N-VA LDD MR PVDA | PTB PP VB

Contact form ¶

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Discussion ¶

July 1, 2015 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

by Mr. Cheron, the rapporteur, is not there. He refers to his written report.

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, it is a somewhat strange situation that the Infrastructure Committee is currently finishing oral questions and that at the same time in the plenary session issues of the Infrastructure Committee are being addressed. This will happen at the end of the political working year.

There has been a lot of debate in the committee in the past months and today about the future of our public transport, about the role of public transport in our society and, not least, about the train. The NMBS Group faces many challenges, ⁇ given the budgetary framework. Efficiency gains will be found. At the same time, a response must be given to a lot of challenges and expectations due to society. All these challenges and expectations will have to be translated into management agreements, which will be developed in the second half of the year during negotiations between FOD Mobility, the Minister and the respective public companies.

It is therefore a good time for Parliament to raise some expectations through a resolution. In the present proposal for a resolution, we would like to draw special attention to persons with reduced mobility. This should become one of the priorities of the management agreements. We want public transportation to be accessible to as many people as possible, including people with reduced mobility. Travellers with reduced mobility are still experiencing too many obstacles today. I give a few examples. They have to request assistants, the train settings and the stations are unadapted, the take-offs are too high.

However, the train should be an option to move for as many passengers as possible. This requires a lot of attention and investment in all sorts of areas. There is already today an investment plan related to the problem, which runs until 2028. It is important to ensure that the attention to the subject does not diminish in the new management agreements. That is why we would like to present this proposal for a resolution.

We therefore call on Parliament to work to improve the accessibility of rail transport. Efforts have already been made, but it can be even better.

Specifically, we call for the reduction of the application time at the major stations from 24 hours to one hour. People with reduced mobility must apply in advance. This must be done at least 24 hours in advance. We believe that the ambition should be greater in large stations, where there is enough staff. That time could be reduced to one hour, in order to provide flexibility, for example, so that they can stay somewhere an hour longer than originally planned or go home a little earlier. We believe that this should be possible in stations where enough staff is present.

Furthermore, we call for due attention to accessibility in the procurement of new train equipment. This is also ⁇ current. A record bid for new M7 vehicles is expected to be launched soon, and focusing on the availability of new train equipment is essential.

Adjusting the height of perrons and train settings is a major challenge. This will not be obvious, as we still have three different platform heights in Belgium. We believe that it is a major infrastructure challenge to align the platforms and trains. I think there is still a lot of work to be done for Infrabel.

We call on the Government to keep an eye on travellers in its policies and to engage in a structural dialogue with the National High Council for People with Disabilities. He represents the experts in the matter and can be much better and more structured to advise on how to organize public transport in an accessible way.

Another point – which was also discussed in the committee this afternoon – is that the boarding fee should not be charged to travellers who are unable to operate the machines themselves at stations where there are no cabins.

Finally, the card should be able to be automatically assigned to free escorts, so as to reduce the administrative burden for those travellers.

The draft resolution receives considerable support from stakeholders. It is really time. It is important to signal from Parliament that the new management agreement should pay sufficient attention to the accessibility of public transport so that the train can become a valuable means of transport for all.

Mobility, in all its forms, is at the heart of our freedoms, whether to travel, to ensure the transport of goods or to go to your workplace.

The Government is concerned with the improvement of the supply, service and quality of the services of SNCB and Infrabel, in order to meet the expectations of users. Particular attention should also be paid to the specific needs of persons with reduced mobility, both at stations and in trains.

Our Minister of Mobility pointed out the importance of providing accessible stations and trains for all and committed, in its general policy note, to continue efforts on accessibility for people with reduced mobility.

The goal of barrier-free travel must become a reality in the medium term. It is clear that the current time within which the request for guaranteed assistance must be addressed, 24 hours, is too long compared to neighboring countries, especially when it comes to stations where permanent assistance is possible. This ambition should be included in the new management contract with the SNCB. We fully trust the Minister to honour this commitment.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, this proposed resolution gives a strong signal before the conclusion of the next management contract. I would like to congratulate the authors of this resolution. For all the reasons mentioned above, the MR group will support this text.

Colleagues, 24 hours, which is today the time to apply for assistance for people with disabilities who want to take the train. I think this is no longer of this time, that it works stigmatizingly and that we need to make an effort in that regard. We are a third world country in that regard.

Our group therefore fully supports this resolution. I myself signed the resolution.

The application time for guaranteed assistance currently limits the freedom of movement of people with disabilities. Many people with disabilities see this as stigmatizing. What if a meeting ends? What if you want to go out spontaneously? What if you have to go somewhere at the last moment? Twenty-four hours is a long wait.

Minister Weyts also wants to abolish the 24-hour rule.

We also mentioned this in the questions. We believe that the Minister is best advised by the National High Council for Persons with Disabilities as to the groups to be exempted from the boarding fee of 7 euros and the concrete conditions. The State Secretary for Equal Opportunities, Elke Sleurs, would ⁇ like to cooperate on this. As the Minister said, a working group has already been set up between the two cabinets.

I think every step we take is a step in the right direction. The resolution is very ambitious. We have set an application time of one hour. I don’t think we can be ambitious enough in this regard. Every result we get is a good step forward.

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, our group also approved this resolution because we believe that this issue is very important. Years ago, in this House, we submitted and approved a resolution on accessibility, also in order to get a certain report of the investments made for accessibility. Unfortunately, we must note that the annual report is sometimes overlooked.

It is important that the initiative of colleague Van den Bergh is supported because, as other speakers have already said, there is still a lot of work to be done. Just at the committee meeting we once again asked a question about not charging the board fee for people with physical or mental disabilities. This does not appear to be possible. The NMBS says it is not up to the train escort to arbitrate in it. Fortunately, some train guides do that. I think the minister himself does not agree with the answer he should give. She actually said she regrets it. If today the answer of the NMBS is that one is not yet able to demonstrate that flexibility for the board rate, then this shows that this resolution still makes sense.

My only concern with the whole project is that the necessary financial resources must also be provided for those ambitions. Financial resources are not everything. There are other elements in the resolution. That is why we also approve them well. However, it is important that in the debate that will now be held between the Cabinets, Infrabel and the NMBS, it is considered which financial resources are put against it; otherwise there is no question of autonomy.

Our group will therefore surely and firmly approve this resolution. We hope that it will contribute to the necessary financial resources and that it will create flexibility among the NMBS managers, because those travellers need additional support.