The Indian Railways is planning to overhaul the signage system at railway stations for better travelling comfort of passengers, on the basis of fresh design principles.
Up to 1,275 stations have been selected under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. They are those located in major cities and places of tourist and pilgrimage importance. “Work is in progress at 88 stations. Tendering and planning is in progress for 1,187 stations,” a senior railway official said.
Disabled-friendly
Union Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “It was felt to issue standard guidelines on signages at stations that will be consistent and adequate. The Indian Railways will adopt modern, standard signages which are divyang-friendly.”
The Railways now prioritises simple language, clear font, easy-to-see colours and intuitive pictograms. “It is made keeping in mind the requirements of all passengers, including elderly, women, children, divyangjan etc. The colours of signages, type and size of fonts have been standardised,” the official mentioned above, said.
The current system of signages is inconsistent and inadequate. An internal presentation of the Ministry of Railways pointed out that there was a lack of uniformity in some cases. In others, signages were overlapping with advertisements and not in the visual scheme of commuters. Some signages were not aesthetically designed and at other places, they were absent.
“New tertiary boards displaying station names with tricolour backgrounds have been introduced. Emphasis has been laid on providing intuitive way finding and availability of signages on key decision-making points,” the official added.
Faster way finding
The concept of grouping of signages has been introduced for faster way finding for commuters. Grouping would provide the hierarchy of how information is shared starting with essential journey information including train travel and platform; directional information like transport interchange and navigating the station; amenities and facilities like toilet and water; commercial facilities like restaurants and retail; and lastly exit information.
Pictograms for water taps of the disabled, wheelchair assistance, ramps, tourist information, mobile-charging, escalators etc. have been standardised.
Three railway stations— Rani Kamalapati, Gandhinagar Capital, and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal— have already been commissioned along these lines, the official said.
