It doesn’t happen too often. But this is one situation in which Patrick Berger prefers to take the lift. Taking the legendary staircase leading up to the Albertina, the famous art museum in Vienna’s First District, is simply not an option. Since the age of 11, Patrick Berger has had to use a wheelchair due to the effects of myelitis. This means that large staircases with many narrow steps are no use to him.

However, Patrick doesn’t think in terms of limitations and barriers. Instead, he sees a world of possibilities and is continually looking for new areas of fun and adventure to explore. At an early age, he topped the rankings in various sports, such as table tennis, rugby, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon and alpine skiing, where he competed in both the European and World Championships. He even competed for the world title in ballroom dancing. That was until the curvature of his spine caused him to give up competitive sports. He then went on to study business economics, and now enjoys spending his free time in the great outdoors on the hiking trails in the alpine countryside near his home region, Salzburger Land (Austria).

Successful testing has already been carried out in Hanover (Germany). “We already have the solution,” Paul continues. “But before we see large-scale investment in barrier-free railway access in Europe, we’re probably going to need new laws and regulations at the EU level, similar to the legislation in North America.” And it appears that the cornerstone has already been laid. For example, article 21(1) of EU regulation 1371/2007 defines the rights and obligations of railway passengers as follows: “Railway undertakings and station managers shall, through compliance with the technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) for persons with reduced mobility, ensure that the station, platforms, rolling stock and other facilities are accessible to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility.”

To develop these comprehensive solutions, Paul and his team are working closely together with their colleagues at Liebherr Aerospace in Lindenberg (Germany) and they are constantly exchanging technology insights with other Liebherr development centres from the construction machinery sector. “It takes a team effort to achieve technological advances today,” says Paul. “At Liebherr, we pool all of our experience and technical expertise from the transport systems, aerospace and construction machinery sector. This enables us to develop innovative products that meet the specific needs of each of our customers.”

Paul firmly believes that the key to success lies in the quality of technically sophisticated products. That is why he and his team in Korneuburg focus on testing, monitoring, verification and continual improvement to guide them at each stage of the product cycle, from prototyping, to product qualification, to serial production. As an engineer and product manager, Paul takes some inspiration from legendary football trainer Dettmar Cramer, who once rallied his team before an international title match by telling them, “As long as better is possible, good isn’t good enough.” Patrick Berger could not have put it better himself.