Indian Railways installs Braille navigation maps at Chennai and Egmore stations

To help the visually impaired travel on their own, Southern Railway has installed Braille navigation maps at Chennai Central Railway station and Egmore station. The railway authorities initiated this decision to make railway stations visually impaired-friendly. The Braille Maps were installed on July 4.

The map is fixed at the entrance of the two railway stations and is 3X3 feet in size. It will help guide the visually impaired passengers to navigate across the station to assess ticket counters, differently-abled people`s toilets, concourse areas, water taps, waiting rooms, cloakrooms, foot over bridge, and entry and exit points of platforms.

Southern Railway said in a statement that QR codes are provided on the Braille boards/signages and can be scanned with smartphones which will activate audio messages. These audio messages will guide the passengers to the destinations where they intended to go.

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Dr. Ramani P. Mathai, who works with the visually impaired, while speaking to IANS said, "The installation of Braille boards in Chennai and Egmore railways stations is a welcome step by the Railways. The visually impaired will now be able to navigate through the station to reach the platforms where they are headed as well as get directions to reach toilets or to places they intend to travel within the station. A great initiative by the Southern Railway."

(With inputs from IANS)

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