Rail car with a toilet cell for persons with reduced mobility

Abstract

The railway car (2) comprises: - a passenger compartment (30) extending along at least part of the length of the car (2) and having, at one end only, an access opening (34); and - a toilet cubicle (42) equipped with a toilet bowl (48), occupying the entire width of the car (2) and accessible from an entrance door (46). The toilet cubicle (42) is located in the passenger compartment (30), at the far end of the compartment opposite the single access opening (34), the access door (46) opening into the passenger compartment (30).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a railway car, of the type comprising: a passenger room extending along at least part of the length of the car and having, at one end only, an access opening; and a toilet cell provided with a toilet bowl, occupying the entire width of the car and accessible from an entrance door.

[0002] The railway car is intended in particular to offer its occupants the amenities necessary for a comfortable welcome during their journeys.

[0003] In order to facilitate movement and accessibility to amenities within the railway carriage for people with reduced mobility, current regulatory constraints require compliance with dimensional criteria.

[0004] In the case of a rail car, one of the constraints applies to the toilet cell. Indeed, the cell must define a sufficient turning area allowing people in wheelchairs to maneuver properly.

[0005] Document EP 2 363 333 describes a railway carriage comprising a passenger lounge and a toilet cell placed at one end of the carriage. The toilet cell and the passenger lounge are separated by an access platform having side doors which open from the railway carriage onto the platforms. The platform also serves a staircase leading to a second level of the carriage.

[0006] The small volume allocated to the toilet cell prevents regulatory requirements in terms of toilet cell sizing from being met, preventing people in wheelchairs from moving around easily.

[0007] The immediate presence of the side doors and the staircase creates a lot of clutter around the toilet unit, preventing its enlargement and making it impossible to comply with regulatory requirements.

[0008] One aim of the invention is to propose a railway car accommodating a toilet cell having the volume necessary to comply with regulatory constraints while having only a low impact on passenger movement within the car.

[0009] To this end, the invention relates to a railway car of the aforementioned type, characterized in that the toilet cell is placed in the passenger room, at the back of the room opposite the only access opening, the access door opening into the passenger room.

[0010] According to particular embodiments, the railway car according to the invention comprises one or more of the following characteristics, taken in isolation or in any technically conceivable combination: the toilet cell is provided with a turning space forming a central circular area with a diameter greater than or equal to 1.5 meters; the toilet cell comprises a sliding door connecting with the passenger room and having a push-button control system; the access door to the toilet cell is laterally offset relative to the median longitudinal axis of the vehicle and the toilet cell comprises a toilet bowl arranged on the side opposite the door relative to the median longitudinal axis of the vehicle; the toilet cell comprises a sink and the toilet bowl, the sink and the door are placed in three separate corners of the toilet cell; the toilet cell has its own air extraction system so that the toilet cell is placed in depression relative to the passenger room; the passenger room comprises a wheelchair storage area near the toilet cell;the passenger room comprises rows of seats arranged successively along the length of the car and at least one of the two rows of seats comprises at least one space for accommodating a wheelchair and its occupant seated on the wheelchair or at least one seat for persons with reduced mobility or the person accompanying the passenger in a wheelchair; the passenger room comprises rows of seats arranged successively along the length of the car and at least one of the two rows of seats comprises at least one space for accommodating a wheelchair and its occupant seated on the wheelchair; the railway car comprises: a high passenger room;and a low passenger room, the toilet cell occupying the entire width of the car and being placed at the back of one of the passenger rooms, opposite the only access opening and the other passenger room has two accesses to adjacent cars located on either side of the railway car. ;

[0011] Other aspects and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description, given solely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which: [ Fig 1 ] there Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a railway car according to the invention; and [ Fig 2 ] there Figure 2 is a partial top view of the railway car of the figure 1 .

[0012] On the Figure 1 illustrated is the body 1 of a railway car 2 comprising a lower level 4 and an upper level 6. A floor 8 separates the lower level 4 from the upper level 6.

[0013] Body 1 of railway car 2 rests on bogies 10. The figure 1 represents a railway car of an articulated train, that is to say a train in which the bogies are between the cars. The bogies are then called intermediate. Alternatively, the car is that of a conventional train, that is to say a train made up of cars each resting on two complete bogies independent of the other cars.

[0014] The upper level 6 comprises a high passenger room 12 extending along most of the length of the car 2. The high passenger room 12 is delimited by transverse partitions and comprises rows of seats for able-bodied passengers 14 fixed on the floor 8 and / or on a side face 15 of the railway car. The rows of seats 14 are separated by a median high circulation 16 of axis AA' on the floor 8.

[0015] A connecting intercirculation 18 connects with the adjacent car of the train via a door 20.

[0016] An access platform 22 is located in the extension of the end of the upper passenger hall 12 and opposite the connecting intercirculation 18. The access platform 22 is separated from the upper passenger hall 12 by a partition equipped or not with a door 24. The access platform 22 communicates with the other adjacent car by an intercirculation, access to which may optionally be achieved by a door 25. In addition, the access platform 22 advantageously comprises a fitted area 26, such as a baggage compartment. It is connected to the lower level 4 by a staircase 28 arranged in the longitudinal direction.

[0017] The lower level 4 comprises a low passenger room 30 extending over most of the length of car 2 up to a bogie 10 of car 2. The space 31 available above the bogie in the vehicle is occupied by technical equipment of the vehicle, such as an air conditioning unit for example.

[0018] The lower passenger room 30 opens from a single end onto a low access platform 32, via an access opening 34 possibly provided with a door. The lower passenger room 30 is blind, that is to say that it only has one open end for the passage of passengers.

[0019] The low access platform 32 has, laterally on each side of the car 2, an access door 35 allowing transfer from the outside to the inside of the car 2 and vice versa. The low access platform 32 connects with the low passenger room 30 by the single access opening 34 of the lower level 4.

[0020] In a known manner, the low access platform 32 is connected by the staircase 28 to the access platform 22 of the upper level 6.

[0021] The lower passenger room 30 comprises as illustrated in the figure 2 a row 36 of seats for able-bodied persons and a row 37 of spaces for persons with reduced mobility, including one or more areas reserved for persons in wheelchairs. The two rows 36 and 37 define a central low circulation 38. They form rows of seats on either side of the circulation 38.

[0022] In reference to the figure 2 , a toilet cell 42 occupies the entire width of car 2 and is at the back of the low passenger room 30, opposite the low access platform 32 and the single access opening 34.

[0023] Among the two rows of seats in the lower passenger lounge 30 closest to the toilet cell there is at least one location 41B for accommodating a wheelchair and its occupant seated on the wheelchair and possibly at least one seat 41A for a person with reduced mobility or the person accompanying the passenger in a wheelchair.

[0024] A 41A seat for people with reduced mobility typically has a larger access space than conventional seats and mobile or removable equipment.

[0025] 41B spaces are free areas on the floor allowing a person in a wheelchair to be accommodated on their wheelchair for the entire journey without them having to leave the wheelchair.

[0026] In addition, a wheelchair storage area 44 is located in the immediate vicinity of toilet cell 42 within lower passenger hall 30.

[0027] A sliding door 46 connects the lower passenger room 30 and the toilet cell 42. It is arranged in the transverse front partition separating the toilet cell from the passenger room. It is offset from the longitudinal axis of the train and thus opens into a corner of the toilet cell 42. This door is controlled to open and close using push buttons located on the toilet cell 42 and near the cell to be accessible by a person in a wheelchair once in front of the cell door.

[0028] A toilet bowl 48 rests on a bottom partition of the toilet cell 42. The bottom partition is a transverse partition of the train opposite the door 46. The toilet bowl 48 is connected to a water storage module 50 (clean water and waste water). The toilet bowl 48 is located in the corner opposite the corner towards which the sliding door 46 is arranged.

[0029] An air extraction system 52 located on a side wall of the toilet cell 42 makes it possible to renew the air, placing the toilet cell 42 in a slight depression relative to the lower passenger room 30.

[0030] A washbasin 54 is provided on the same side as the toilet bowl 48 relative to the longitudinal axis of the train in a corner between the front partition and a side face of the vehicle.

[0031] The toilet bowl 48, the water storage module 50, the air extraction system 52 and the sink 54 are placed on the partitions of the toilet cell 42 in order to define a central circular turning area 56 with a diameter greater than or equal to 1.5 meters within the toilet cell 42 allowing people in wheelchairs to maneuver properly.

[0032] The railway car 2 according to the invention therefore very effectively integrates the toilet cell 42 occupying the entire width of the car 2 and placed at the back of the low passenger room 30 opposite the single opening 34. This arrangement allows the toilet cell 42 to have a central circular turning area 56 with a diameter greater than or equal to 1.5 meters, making it possible to comply with the regulatory requirements in terms of dimensioning and at the same time to limit the impact on the movement of passengers on board the car 2.

Claims

1. A railway carriage (2) comprising: - a passenger space (30) extending along at least part of the length of the coach (2) and having an access opening (34) at one unique end; and - a toilet cubicle (42) equipped with a toilet bowl (48), occupying the entire width of the vehicle (2) and accessible from an entrance door (46) characterised in that the toilet cubicle (42) is placed in the passenger space (30), at the back of the hall opposite the single access opening (34), the access door (46) opening into the passenger space (30).

2. A railway carriage (2) according to claim 1, in which the toilet cubicle (42) is provided with a turning space (56) forming a central circular area with a diameter greater than or equal to 1.5 metres.

3. A railway carriage (2) according to claim 1 or 2, in which the toilet cubicle (42) comprises a sliding door (46) connecting with the passenger space (30) and having a push-button control system.

4. A railway carriage (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the access door (46) to the toilet cubicle is laterally off-centre with respect to the median longitudinal axis (A-A') of the vehicle and the toilet cubicle (42) comprises a toilet bowl (48) arranged on the opposite side to the door (46) with respect to the median longitudinal axis (A-A') of the vehicle.

5. A railway carriage (2) according to claim 4, in which the toilet cubicle (42) comprises a washbasin (54) and in which the toilet bowl (48), the washbasin (54) and the door (46) are positioned in three separate corners of the toilet cubicle (42).

6. A railway carriage (2) according to any of the preceding claims, in which the toilet cubicle (42) has its own air extraction system (52) so that the toilet cubicle (42) is placed in a vacuum with respect to the passenger space (30).

7. A railway carriage (2) according to any of the preceding claims, in which the passenger space (30) comprises a wheelchair storage area (44) close to the toilet cubicle (42).

8. A railway carriage (2), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the passenger space comprises rows of seats arranged successively along the length of the carriage and in that at least one of the two rows of seats comprises at least one space (41B) for accommodating a wheelchair and its occupant seated on the wheelchair or at least one seat (41A) for persons with reduced mobility or the person accompanying the passenger in the wheelchair.

9. A railway carriage (2), according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the passenger space comprises rows of seats arranged successively along the length of the carriage and in that at least one of the two rows of seats comprises at least one space (41B) for accommodating a wheelchair and its occupant seated on the wheelchair.

10. A railway carriage (2), according to any of the preceding claims, comprising: - an upper passenger space (12); and - a low-passenger space (30), the toilet cubicle (42) occupying the entire width of the carriage (2) and being located at the back of one of the passenger rooms, opposite the single access opening (34), and the other passenger space has two accesses (20, 25) to adjacent carriages located on either end of the rail carriage (2).

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