MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Subway cars for pregnant women, the physically challenged and senior citizens are in prospect for travellers on the Metro underground rail systems of Moscow and northern capital St. Petersburg.
A Transport Ministry bill will go before parliament in the autumn, Deputy Transport Minister Nikolay Asaul told the Federation Council upper house of Russia's parliament on Thursday.
"The final stage of co-ordination with relevant agencies" is under way, he said, adding that plans includes stairlifts for people with limited mobility - "a feasible task", he added.
Metro bosses in Moscow and Russia's second city caution on the difficulties ahead, though.
Moscow system head Dmitry Pegov points to passenger footfall. "Around 8 million people use the Moscow subway daily and the interval between trains is less than 90 seconds," he said.
St. Petersburg system deputy chief Igor Vybornov is also sceptical, noting rush hour subway cars carrying more than 200 travellers.
"If we allocate a separate car, all other cars will be overcrowded even more," he said, noting that "a question arises how these cars should be administered and how separate groups of citizens can be separated during rush hours".
If such a decision was taken at federal level, both systems would work on proposals, the two executives said.