In the design and implementation of the FS Group's websites, the utmost care has been taken to respect accessibility and usability features so that the pages comply with the technical requirements set out in the Ministerial Decree implementing the Stanca Law (Law 4/2004 “Provisions to facilitate disabled persons’ access to IT tools”) and the WCAG 2.0 guidelines set out in the WAI Web Accessibility Initiative international standard, an initiative of the W3C world consortium that deals with standardising website design.

Making a website accessible means ensuring that anyone can fully access the content, information and services that are available on the site, regardless of the operating system, navigation tools (devices other than a monitor, keyboard or mouse) or browser settings, and regardless of the connection speed available. Access to services and information therefore also extends to persons who, due to disabilities, need assistive technologies or special configurations.

From a technical point of view, all pages of the Group's websites are valid for the XHTML 1.0 Strict doctype, have been formatted using only CSS style sheets, and do not contain frames and flash objects that are not accessible; no nested tables have been used. In addition:

• Textual equivalents have been provided to convey the same information to the user as non-textual content (all content images have their own description in the ALT attribute, while purely decorative images have an ALT attribute with zero content)
• Text and graphics are understandable even when displayed without colour
• Forms have markers that make the link between a text input field and its textual label unique
• The colours are designed to ensure a good contrast between background and foreground colour (text) and to avoid the use of colours that were too bright or that could cause annoyance when viewing pages
• The structure was created using the markers necessary to be interpreted correctly by each navigation system
• The pages are accessible even if javascript is not supported or is disabled in the user's navigation systems
• The fonts are set with a relative size, compatible with the preferences specified by the user in the “font size” option in their browser
• Forms are set up to allow users to access information, fill in fields and submit data through a variety of devices
• Links to external contexts open in external windows if javascript is enabled
• Navigation aids (link blocks) have been inserted
• The site is correctly navigable with assisted browsing tools.

In order to ensure the widest usability of the site's content, advanced navigation support tools have been introduced, including key combinations for quick access to the various site sections and quick links to the main navigation and content.

In particular, the implementation scheme of the rapid access keys common to all pages is shown in the table:

Note: Limited use has been made of the accesskey as this technique involves assigning keys to select a link, and can sometimes impair navigation for users using voice-reading programmes where key associations are already present.

The websites of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group have been maintained and implemented with a focus on accessibility for all categories of users.

Due to the frequency with which the site homepage changes, it may in some cases be temporarily not fully accessible.

Accessibility, i.e. the ability of information systems to deliver services and provide usable information without discrimination, is a path and not an end point.

The accessibility of sites will therefore be monitored and supported by guidelines for advances in the technical and publishing aspects of the editorial work. Some pages and some services have not yet been made accessible.