A complete travel chain around the elderly entering the station, transferring, waiting, taking the bus, and leaving the station——
There are national standards for urban rail transit’s aging
Unable to find an elevator when entering the station, unclear transfer signs, too low temperature in the carriages, and tight time to get on and off the train... These problems that give many elderly people headaches when taking the subway will be solved. Starting from September 1, the recommended national standard (hereinafter referred to as the "standard") of the "General Technical Requirements for the Configuration of Aging-Adaptable Basic Equipment and Facilities in Urban Rail Transit Systems" will be implemented. The standard focuses on the complete travel chain of entry, transfer, waiting, boarding, and exit for the elderly, and puts forward new requirements for aging-friendly urban rail equipment and facilities from multiple dimensions.
China has entered a moderately aging society. The "2025 National Aging Development Bulletin" recently released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Office on Aging shows that as of the end of 2025, the country's elderly population aged 60 and above has exceeded 323 million. As the backbone of urban public transportation, urban rail transit carries tens of millions of passengers every day, among which elderly passengers are a group that cannot be ignored.
On the first day of implementation of the standard, we went to some subway stations in Beijing for on-site interviews. A staff member said that he has not received any relevant notice, but that the aging-friendly transformation has been progressing in recent years.
The 80-year-old Mr. Chen is in good health. He generally has a good evaluation of the current subway's aging-friendly services: "The signs for transfers, toilets, etc. in the station are quite clear, and the staff will be enthusiastic to help when you can't see clearly." However, he also mentioned that you need to be extra careful when going up and down stairs and getting on and off the train. He also reported that the temperature in some carriages and waiting areas was too low, which also made elderly passengers feel uncomfortable.
Grandma Sun, 66, takes the subway five or six times a week. Her worries come more from digitalization and information guidance. Buying tickets via mobile phone is a problem for her. "Some subway stations do not have manual ticket sales, so I have to ask the staff to help me every time." Grandma Sun said. The on-site guidance also gave her a hard time. "Some of the signs are not clear enough, so I can't find the exit when I leave the station, and sometimes I sit in the opposite direction." She also mentioned that the sound of the announcements at some stations was too low and could not hear the station announcement clearly, so she had to sit at the station because of this. When she arrived at the transfer station, she confessed that she “often gets lost, following the flow of people and being afraid of going in the wrong direction.”
Full-process safety protection is the first line of defense for this national standard.
In terms of aging-friendly traffic equipment and facilities, based on the characteristics of the elderly group, the standards make systematic provisions for station traffic paths, ground conditions, lifting equipment, and the platform environment. It is required that the aging-friendly streamline should cover the entire journey of elderly passengers, including the station square, entrance and exit floor escalators and elevators, ticket windows, security inspection areas, ticket gates, payment area floor escalators and elevators, platform waiting areas, ride vehicles, etc. Streamline organization should be concise and clear, avoiding detours and repetitions. In terms of stairs, the standard stipulates step height, width and anti-slip measures. For example, the inclination angle of escalators should not be greater than 30°. The standards also set protection requirements for key links that are prone to falls and collisions, so as to build a comprehensive line of defense for elderly passengers’ travel safety.
The standard coordinates the configuration of aging-friendly hardware facilities and clarifies the requirements for infrastructure construction such as station access, rest, rescue, and sanitation. In terms of service equipment and facilities, comprehensive service centers should provide manual services to meet the needs of elderly passengers for consultation and help; public restrooms should be equipped with elderly-friendly toilet seats, equipped with power-assisted handrails and emergency call buttons; security inspection equipment should consider the convenience of elderly passengers; rest points and rescue service facilities should be reasonably set up to ensure the actual needs of elderly passengers for rest and emergency help during the journey. The standards also make it clear to promote the coordinated construction of aging-friendly facilities and barrier-free facilities.
Standard optimization information guidance and smart services. Taking into account the audio-visual characteristics of the elderly, the standard specifies requirements for guidance signs, broadcast announcements, emergency call devices, etc. The public information guidance system should take into account the visual characteristics of the elderly, and the font size and color contrast should be easy to identify; the broadcast system should have functions such as independent broadcast zones and adjustable volume. For digital services, the standard proposes requirements such as simplifying operations and setting up an elder mode to effectively eliminate barriers to the use of smart devices in the elderly's travel scenarios. In terms of ticket sales and inspection equipment, the standards require that manual ticket sales windows be retained while optimizing the senior model of digital services.
The suitable aging conditions for trains are also an important aspect that the standard focuses on. The standard sets out configuration requirements for love seats, wheelchair parking spaces, and interior environment in the carriages, adapting to the actual usage scenarios of elderly passengers riding, accompanying, and emergency parking, and improving the riding experience in the carriages.
In addition, the standard also clarifies an important principle: aging-friendly facilities should be planned, designed, constructed, accepted and put into use simultaneously with the main rail transit projects. New projects should be strictly implemented, and existing reconstruction and expansion projects should be implemented accordingly. This means that adaptable aging is no longer a matter of "make up lessons afterward", but should be taken into consideration from the beginning of the design to ensure the integration of aging-appropriate facilities and the main project from the source.
The relevant person in charge of the State Administration for Market Regulation said that the implementation of this standard provides a unified technical basis for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of aging-friendly equipment and facilities for urban rail transit in my country, and will effectively promote the construction of age-friendly rail transit and effectively protect the public travel rights of the elderly.
Kong Dechen Li Xunan
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (Page 04, September 3, 2026)
