Mumbai: Taking serious note of the problems faced by differently-abled passengers, the Bombay high court Monday asked railway authorities to “think out of the box” and come up with ways to make suburban train coaches and stations more disabled-friendly.

At last hearing, the HC had asked the railway to see possibilities of installing collapsible ramps in local train coaches reserved for differently-abled persons. The court had also suggested increasing the halt time of trains at each station for the convenience of disabled persons.

In reply to that, the railway Monday submitted an affidavit before the division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N.M. Jamdar in which it stated that neither installing collapsible ramps nor increasing the halt time of trains at each station was possible.

The affidavit said, “Installation of collapsible ramps at doors would require a complete redesigning of these coaches by providing a suitable hydraulic system. At present, there is no design available.”

The affidavit further stated that currently, a train halted at each station for 20 to 30 seconds and if the collapsible ramp was installed, the halt time would increase which would in turn result in an 11 per cent decrease in train services. This would lead to greater rush and consequently, an increase in the number of accidents.

“Daily, we read newspaper reports about deaths due to overcrowding in local trains. You (railway) have to come up with a solution. Think out of the box. Technology has improved so much in this world,” Chief Justice Nandrajog said. Justice Jamdar suggested that the coach behind the motorman’s cabin be reserved for the differently-abled.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by local NGO, India Centre for Human Rights and Law, seeking making suburban trains and railway stations disabled-friendly.