If you’re making plans for the upcoming summer holidays, or even just a weekend trip, and you’re wondering how to move by train despite wheelchair, crutches or any other  obstacle, I’ve got good news for you: all the national and international carriers provide the so-called “reduced mobility passengers” with assistance (with different procedures depending on trains and stations!) to hop on and off the wagon and, in many cases, particularly convenient prices. But let’s go in order and see how to plan the journey on time.

• Trenitalia offers an ad hoc assistance service, reserved to people with motoric or sensory disability (both permanent or temporary), psychic disabled people, elderly people and pregnant women. To benefit from it, you need to send, with at least 48 hours notice, a request to the blue room of the station you’re leaving from (here you have the list of the blue rooms, including timetables and details about the served stations), going there in person, sending an e-mail (you’ll find the contacts for each station in the above list) or calling the toll free number 800 90 60 60, specifying the details of your journey, the assistance you need and the meeting point you prefer, plus a telephone number for any communication. Thereafter, you only have to wait for the confirmation mail and/or SMS, where you’ll find also the meeting time (usually, 30 minutes before the train departure). There’s no need to send the request to the station you’ll leave back, usually: the blue room of the station you’re leaving from will notice its colleagues, who will set everything. The service is available in almost all the stations of Trenitalia group, but pay attention: depending on the stations or the type of train (for instance, so far, not all the regional trains are equipped to allow the usage of a lift truck, needed to guarantee the access on board to people using a wheelchair or with severe walking issues), something could change. So, my advice (based on my own experience…) is to always contact the blue room of the departure station before booking your journey, so that you can properly plan everything! Furthermore, on Trenitalia website you can find a simplified buying procedure reserved to reduced mobility customers who’d need it, plus the possibility to book and pay the tickets for reduced mobility passengers and (if any) their companions with most favourable conditions, thanks to the Postoblu.
• Italo is committed to guarantee the maximum accessibility to passengers with motoric or sensory issues on their train convoys, too. There you’ll find both reserved seats for passengers who use a wheelchair and equipped toilets for motoric disabled people, plus Braille signage for visually impaired passengers. You can request the service you need only calling Pronto Italo contact center at 06 07 08 at least 12 hours before departure. Another difference compared with Trenitalia: when booking, you must also submit documents certifying your disability, both permanent or temporary.

• Are you ready to leave? Enjoy your trip!