Inaugurated today in the Cagliari station was the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FS Group) Sala Blu for assistance services to travellers with reduced mobility and disabilities.
Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Antonio Moro – Councillor of Transport for the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Alessio Mereu – Councillor of Mobility Policies and Technological Services for the Municipality of Cagliari, and Daniele Moretti – RFI Circulation Director.
The centre operates every day, including Sundays and public holidays, from 6:45 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., providing passengers with access to qualified staff in a 100-square-metre room built to the highest standards of design. The Sala Blu shall coordinate assistance services in eight stations located throughout Sardinia, namely Cagliari, Elmas Aeroporto, Macomer, Olbia, Oristano, Ozieri Chilivani, San Gavino and Sassari. The circuit will later be extended to other stations.
Like the other 14 locations throughout the country, Cagliari’s Sala Blu will welcome travellers to the station, accompany them to collect their tickets and aboard the train, provide a wheelchair and even offer assistance whilst boarding and disembarking from the train by means of an elevator.
These services were previously coordinated from Roma Termini but are now managed by the new Sala Blu in Cagliari, the 16th of its kind in Italy, if we also count the Sala Blu Nazionale.
In over 330 stations, the national network guarantees assistance to passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility who wish to travel by train.
Since 2011, more than 3.1 million assistance services have been provided by the Sala Blu network. By the end of 2022, this figure is expected to rise to around 3.2 million. This result was made possible by the expansion of the network of stations and the 2020 activation of the Sala Blu Nazionale, tasked with supporting the territorial garrisons in handling requests for assistance.
To book the service, send an email to SalaBlu.CAGLIARI@rfi.it or call the toll-free number 800.90.60.60 (from landlines in Italy) or 02.32.32 (from mobile phones or any other landlines). Furthermore, thanks to the Sala Blu Plus app and the Sala Blu online portal, it is possible to request assistance directly from the web, also using a special chat service dedicated to people with hearing disabilities. More information is available at www.rfi.it under the Station Accessibility section.