This might be old news for Torontonians (or even Canadian residents in general) but I just discovered the plans for new subway trains in the city. The trains, which are to be built by Bombardier are pretty cool looking. What's more interesting is the well-written explanation of the trains' design on the TTC website.

The TTC site comes up with some frequency in Toronto design circles as a quintessential example of poor site design. However, this individual article is concise, well formatted, effective in its use of imagery, and is generally an interesting read. When considering issues of accessibility on the web, it's always interesting to see how those concerns translate in the real world. Carefully colour-coded floor mapping, accessible evacuation systems, and colour-contrasted anti-microbial (!) stanchions are just a few examples from the article.

When we mess up accessibility on the web, people miss out on important information, are locked out of systems, and can't buy things. When it's messed up in the real world, people can get sick, get injured, or die. That's quite a responsibility, and it's one which unfortunately gets little credit when people invariably look at new subway trains' design and pass quick judgement on the aesthetics.