My name is Rainer, and in our latest video, I’ll explain how I use Braille to find not only my platform at Cologne Central Station, but also the exact section of the platform where I need to be.
I have to take a train from platform 9 today, and the car where my seat is reserved
is in section B. And I can find it quite easily here in Cologne
with the help of Braille.
First, we have a sign on the stair railing.
Tracks 8-9, A-G. These are the platform sections.
And now I’m going to go up here, because I want to go to track 9.
Here’s the special feature I want to show you.
There’s another sign up here. You may be familiar with this.
Track 8 on the left, track 9 on the right. That’s very interesting for me.
And then there’s G, E, and A in Braille, with profile lettering underneath.
And to the left and right of the E is an arrow pointing left and right.
In this case, that means I’m in section E.
To get to section G, I turn left, and to get to section A, I turn right.
So if I want to go to section B, I have to turn right when I’m standing on the platform.
And that’s what I’m going to do now.
Here are the stairs down again. This is a sign with Braille and tactile raised lettering.
It says track 8 on the left, track 9 on the right. And then we have G again, followed by C and A.
The raised lettering tells us that we are now in section C and that we have to turn right to get to section B.
To get to section G, we have to turn left here. This means that we can see that we still have a little way to go.
And then we’ll be at section B, exactly where we want to be.
Yes, it’s a cool thing that Cologne Central Station has Braille here.
Video description
The video begins with the logos of Living Braille and Braille 200, accompanied by sounds from the main train station in Köln. From second 6 onward, Reiner speaks directly to the camera and explains what he is going to show in the video. Starting at second 32, the video shows a metallic handrail at the bottom of the stone-grey staircase leading to platforms 8 and 9, featuring Braille and raised profile lettering. Then, up the stairs, Reiner films the handrail that includes new information and reads them in Braille:
Gleis 8: L – Gleis 9: R – G ← E → A.
From 1:42 to 1:54, Reiner walks along the station platform, using his cane and the tactile floor markings for orientation. Starting at 1:54, Reiner is on the other staircase of the platform, where he finds another handrail information guide in Braille and raised profile lettering. There, he reads in Braille that the correct area for the train car in which his seat is booked (area B) is located further to the right. Gleis 8: L – Gleis 9: R – G ← C → A.
From 2:37 to the end of the video, we hear a train arrival announcement, and the logos of Living Braille and Braille 200 appear to close the video.
Watch the Video on our Channel
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