PDA's CEO, Jeremy Muir, recently wrote to VIC Minister for Transport Infrastructure/Public and Active Transport, The Hon Gabrielle Williams MP, voicing concern over accessibility failings of Metro Tunnel stations. Flagged as a major concern by PDA's VIC Director, Robert Wise, and VIC Associate Director, Sean Tyrell, safety and accessibility ramifications of uneven heights between platforms and trains needs to be urgently addressed and rectified - not just for those with disabilities, mobility issues and people travelling with children in prams, but for all commuters.
The Herald Sun ran a story on July 4th, stating that "New station platforms in the $15bn Metro Tunnel, that were designed to allow wheelchair access, do not line up with the height of train floors, posing a potential hazard. A raised gap of up to two-inches was identified during train testing at CBD platforms in the new tunnel."
With this exposé apparently failing to induce the Victorian Government to immediately address these blatant accessibility and safety concerns, it is commuters who will ultimately pay the cost of unsafe and inaccessible transport on this new Metro tunnel route – ironically touted by Victorian government officials as providing "some of the most accessible stations on [the] network [alllowing] passengers with wheelchairs [to] be able to directly roll on and off the new platforms without using a ramp."
PDA's Robert Wise, who regularly uses this route as a wheelchair user, has encountered problems with independently entering and exiting the trains as a result of the two inch height difference between the platform and train floor. "Much of my travel is done alone and without any support. Prior to the Metro Tunnel work this had never been an issue for me and I was capable of utilising the line. Now I have to navigate and access a barrier to my independence and rights as a commuter and a person living with disability."
Jeremy Muir, PDA's CEO, has called for the Victorian government's Transport Minister to ensure that this height difference is addressed quickly and effectively – allowing travel access and safety to be a given on the Metro's driving belief that "rail should be all inclusive, bringing independence and confidence to everyone, whatever their circumstance".1 "I was excited about the commencement of the new Metro Tunnel and utilising it to get around Melbourne more independently, but now it appears that may not be possible. This failure to deliver an accessible and safe public transport route not only fails people with disability, but also people with mobility issues, parents travelling with prams and small children – in fact anyone commuting. Hopefully this is something that is addressed ahead of the line opening and being deemed fit for travel."
The letter to The Hon Gabrielle Williams MP
