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Amtrak unveiled a first-of-its-kind retractable platform in Ann Arbor Thursday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities act.

Michigan Lt. Governor Brian Calley said at the event that “inclusion is a game-changer” for the disabled community and that this platform is a step in the efforts to improve accessibility across the state.

The platform is intended to provide safer and faster boarding on and off trains for all passengers, including those who use wheeled devices or need assistance with luggage and strollers. The platform extends towards the train, closing the gap that normally exists between a static boarding platform and rail cars.

“If you were to turn back time just 50 years ago, many of us would have been institutionalized. The idea is that we would have been out of site out of mind,” Richard Bernstein, the first blind justice on Michigan’s Supreme Court, said.

“We’re celebrating today the idea that everyone has to be in the community.”

Bernstein said there’s no question that people with disabilities still have a long journey ahead, but said the opening of the platform was a reason to celebrate the community’s increased inclusion in public transit.

“This is a train that will take us into the future,” he said. “This is the train of hope, this is the train of promise. This is the train that helps us realize that extraordinary things can, will and must happen for us all.”