RIO-PARALYMPIC/VISIT Accessibility improved on Rio's trains ahead of 2016 Paralympic Games

Record ID: 140075

  • Title: RIO-PARALYMPIC/VISIT Accessibility improved on Rio's trains ahead of 2016 Paralympic Games
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESIDENT, SIR PHILIP CRAVEN, AND OTHER WHEELCHAIR USERS WAITING ON THE PLATFORM AS A TRAIN PULLS INTO RIO DE JANEIRO'S CENTRAL STATION DECORATED WITH IMAGES OF PARALYMPIC ATHLETES CLOSE-UP OF ICONIC CENTRAL STATION CLOCK-TOWER CRAVEN BOARDING TRAIN CRAVEN AND OTHER WHEELCHAIR USERS BOARDING TRAIN CLOSE-UP OF A LOGO ALERTING WHEELCHAIR USERS TO ACCESSIBLE TRAIN ENTRANCE TRAIN WHEELS PASSING RIO 2016 LOGO AND GRAPHIC READING (IN PORTUGUESE): "CELEBRATE" ON THE INTERIOR TRAIN WALL, WITH CRAVEN AND GUESTS ON THE TRAIN BEHIND CLOSE-UP OF PART A QUOTATION ON THE WALL BY BRAZILIAN WRITER JOSE DE ALENCAR ABOUT OVERCOMING OBSTACLES A QUOTATION ON THE TRAIN WALL BY BRAZILIAN WRITER MACHADO DE ASSES READING (IN PORTUGUESE): "THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT CRY KNOWING THAT ROSES HAVE THORNS. THERE ARE OTHERS THAT SMILE KNOWING THAT THORNS HAVE ROSES." VIEW OF THE MARACANA STADIUM FROM THE TRAIN WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESIDENT, SIR PHILIP CRAVEN, SAYING: "I think that this is a great example of how you put in new facilities and new facilities are fully accessible for every member of society, so this is what we are going to see here. I have to tell you I am a train fan. I used to go and watch trains when I was younger, I was a train spotter as they are called in Britain, so I have always had a great affinity for trains, and when you bring trains and poetry together, that's fantastic." CRAVEN AND GUESTS SITTING ON MOVING TRAIN VIEW OUTSIDE TRAIN WINDOW PASSING MARACANA PLATFORM CRAVEN WHEELING HIMSELF OFF THE TRAIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE PRESIDENT, SIR PHILIP CRAVEN, SAYING: "I am fully confident that we are going to have great Games here. There is a lot to do between now and the 7th September, 2016, but we will be working with the organising committee, the IPC to make sure that that happens." CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE SEEN FROM THE STATION / TRAIN IN THE PLATFORM DECORATED WITH IMAGES OF PARALYMPIC ATHLETES IMAGE OF BRAZILIAN PARALYMPIC SPRINTER FELIPE GOMES ON THE SIDE OF THE TRAIN CRAVEN POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY AN IMAGE OF A PARALYMPIC TENNIS PLAYER ON THE SIDE OF THE TRAIN
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABG0USFRKH9C7AOKF4JDPFFRRM
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Sir Philip Craven demonstrated on Friday (September 11) improvements made to wheelchair access on Rio de Janeiro's trains ahead of next year's Summer Games.
    The train trip from Rio's iconic Central Station came at the end of Craven's visit to the host city for celebrations marking one year until the start of the Paralympic Games.
    According to the state government, 250 million Brazilian reais (64 million U.S. dollars) have been invested in works to renovate, modernise and ensure 100 percent accessibility in six train stations as part of a joint public-private venture.
    Trains have also been decorated with images of Paralympic athletes representing diverse sports, and internal train walls completed with Brazilian poetry reflecting on the Paralympic spirit of overcoming obstacles.
    "There are people that cry knowing that roses have thorns. There are others that smile knowing that thorns have roses," one of the quotations reads, in the words of late-nineteenth century writer Machado de Assis.
    For Craven, the combination of structural improvement, such as ramps for wheelchair users, with cultural flourish is a positive development for the city.
    "I think that this is a great example of how you put in new facilities and new facilities are fully accessible for every member of society, so this is what we are going to see here. I have to tell you I am a train fan. I used to go and watch trains when I was younger, I was a train spotter as they are called in Britain, so I have always had a great affinity for trains, and when you bring trains and poetry together, that's fantastic," Craven told reporters at the Rio 2016 headquarters on Friday.
    The dissemination of the Olympic and Paralympic image on the side of the trains also forms part of Mayor Eduardo Paes's Integrated City principle, which aims to take the idea and experience of the Games to all corners of the city.
    The six stations which have been renovated are all situated close to Olympic and Paralympic venues, aiming to increase access and efficiency in travel during Games time.
    According to the state government, ongoing renovations at the Engenho de Dentro train station, situated near to the Engenho stadium where Olympic football matches will take place, will allow authorities to clear the stadium within 45 minutes after the close of the game.
    The station will also have six elevators installed, along with access ramps and remodelled bathrooms for wheelchair users.
    Deodoro station, located close to the Deodoro Olympic Complex, which will host 11 Olympic sports and four Paralympic sports, will also be equipped with six elevators, six escalators, a new ticket desk, shop space and integration with the Bus Rapid Transport under construction.
    Works in these stations as well as in those in Sao Cristovao, Magalhaes Bastos, Vila Militar and Ricardo de Albuquerque stations, are planned to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.
    "I am fully confident that we are going to have great Games here. There is a lot to do between now and the 7th September, 2016, but we will be working with the organising committee, the IPC to make sure that that happens," said Craven on Friday.
    The Future Arena in Rio's Barra Olympic Park, where Olympic handball and Paralympic goalball will be held was handed over to Olympic authorities on Tuesday, though Paes said it would not be completely finished until its inauguration near the end of this year.
    The IPC reported on Friday that the Brazilian Paralympic Centre in Sao Paulo is 97,5 percent complete.
    The centre will have a capacity for 282 athletes to train simultaneously in athletics, wheelchair basketball, boccia, swimming, wheelchair fencing, 5-a-side football, 7-a-side football, goalball, powerlifting, judo, wheelchair rugby, table tennis, wheelchair tennis, triathlon and sitting volleyball. The centre will also provide a research centre for sports medicine.
    Craven said during his visit that he expects Rio's to be the largest Paralympic Games yet, with 3,3 million tickets to be sold, a cumulative television audience of over four billion, and more television companies covering the event than ever before.
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