The Community of Madrid has recreated a Metro station at the Cambrils Special Education Centre, located in the district of Carabanchel, to bring the operation of public transport closer to its students. This activity, which has been organised on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated tomorrow, is part of the LARA programme, the Support Line for the Reinforcement of Autonomy, launched by the metropolitan company in 2018. 

Today, the Deputy Regional Minister for Housing, Transport and Infrastructures, José María García, visited these facilities to learn first-hand about the initiative, which seeks to promote the autonomous use of the underground by these schoolchildren. He also had the opportunity to take part in one of the training sessions that the employees of the public company give every week in these institutions. 

In this sense, García assured that programmes such as this "are key to progress towards a more inclusive and equitable society and open the door to greater mobility, freedom and personal development for people with disabilities". He also stressed that "the Community of Madrid is working to ensure that public transport is another incentive for them to be able to participate actively in social, working and educational life in an independent manner". 

The centre's facilities fully recreate a metro station, with a main hall at the entrance to the classrooms, which includes all its characteristic elements such as the replica of the ticket vending machines and an information panel with the network map and information on timetables and fares, along with the typical Entrance and Exit information signs. Corridors have also been designed to reproduce different lines, with directories showing the names of stations and their connections, as well as other typical elements of the setting, such as lift and staircase signage. 

CEE Cambrils, which has also participated in other activities included in the programme and in the educational project AulaMetro, is the third school to join this initiative. This was previously done by the María Corredentora centre, in the district of Hortaleza, and the Miguel de Unamuno centre, in Móstoles. 

Thanks to the LARA programme, and since 2020, Metro de Madrid has held 118 information sessions and guided tours of the underground network for people with disabilities, and almost 200 training sessions. The metro company also organises regular awareness campaigns for both employees and users, as well as offering practical training at stations in the use of machines and turnstiles. The website also features easy-to-read guides and resources, as well as a video tutorial with subtitles and sign language translation.