As of 7 August, there will be a new free Sala Blu assistance service for people with disabilities and reduced mobility who intend to cross the Messina Strait.
Organised in association with Blu Jet, a subsidiary of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, to ensure territorial continuity in the Strait, the service involves accompanying passengers from their arrival at the station to the embarkation point, thus promoting intermodal transfer between train and high-speed ship.
The meeting points will be located nearby the Blu Jet ticket office in Messina and at the embarkation point in Villa San Giovanni, and will be easy to identify owing to the horizontal and vertical signs.
In keeping with the spirit of inclusiveness, assistance will therefore be guaranteed for anyone with permanent or temporary reduced mobility. Elderly people or those with disabilities will therefore be able to take advantage of the service, but also anyone who has suffered an accident.
The most immediate benefit will be a reduction in journey time. Until now, people with reduced mobility only had the option to cross the Messina Strait on-board the Intercity trains aboard the ferries, with an average journey time of one hour and twenty minutes. By contrast, with the new integrated assistance service, the journey may be completed directly on-board the high-speed Blu Jet vessels in just 45 minutes.
Further advantages include not only the faster connection between the Strait’s main tourist attractions (Aeolian Islands, Milazzo, Taormina, Sicily, Bagnara Calabra), but also the creation of new routes for commuters with reduced mobility owing to integration with the existing metropolitan services.
To request the integrated assistance service, use the Sale Blu booking channels, available on the website www.rfi.it in the “station accessibility” section. It will also be possible to refer to the Messina and Reggio Calabria Sale Blu by sending an e-mail to SalaBlu.Messina@rfi.it, SalaBlu.ReggioCalabria@rfi.it.