Multipurpose compartment

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Multi-purpose area (right) on a LINT 41

A multi- purpose compartment or multi-purpose area on trains , trams or public buses is a passenger area in a passenger car that can be used as required for wheelchairs , prams , bicycles and luggage . This can be a free area in the railcar , a wagon or a trailer. In addition, there may also be open spaces in the rear parts of the car ( trailer ) of articulated buses, especially for prams and luggage.

A wagon intended purely for luggage is called a luggage wagon . Entire wagons, which could be converted depending on their intended use, existed between the end of the 19th and mid-20th centuries under the name of optional wagons .

In the past, multi-purpose compartments were called compartments for travelers with loads or load areas . A corresponding address is still present on some historical vehicles and on Saxon narrow-gauge wagons .

Furnishing

The multipurpose area is mostly equipped with folding seats . So there is more seating available in the company. In addition, belts are often provided here to secure bicycles or strollers against tipping and rolling away. The marking of the multi-purpose area with pictograms (wheelchair, stroller, bicycle) is located at the nearest outside door of the vehicle. Usually this area is located directly at an entry area and immediately next to exterior doors.

Additional features may be present in connection with wheelchair spaces: special holding request button with interruption of the automatic door closing, push-button for requesting a wheelchair lift or a wheelchair ramp, a station for mobile workers or Hilferufvorrichtung, a restraint system with or without straps, seats for accompanying persons, from Wheelchair space from recognizable displays with passenger information, marked as wheelchair space. As far as there are wheelchair spaces in the multi-purpose area, trains with toilets often also have a barrier-free toilet ( universal toilet ) there.

criticism

From the operator's point of view, an area will be created for everything that needs more space . Therefore, depending on the operation, there are also ticket machines or the parking space for a minibar and holders for winter sports equipment. However, the competition for the same space can lead to conflict situations if, for example, people with strollers or wheelchair users cannot take a safe place for their journey due to the availability of bicycles, or bicycles that are parked block access to the universal toilet. This leads to operational regulations that are not easy to enforce on well-used trains. There are now operators where wheelchair parking spaces are not arranged in a general multi-purpose area, such as Süwex and Operator, where bicycles are only taken in separate bicycle carts and not in multi-purpose carts such as metronome .

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