Wheelchair users still blocked from one third of Sydney train stations

By 2022 all public transport infrastructure was meant to have lifts, however the reality is far different for people with limited mobility, parents with prams and the elderly.

Wheelchair user Mel Harrison loves going on beach adventures, kayaking and hitting the gym – but she’s blocked from using her local train station.

“For me it’s just a constant reminder of a disability that I have … it’s very frustrating,” Ms Harrison said.

Her local station St Peters has no lift and nearby Redfern only has a lift to some platforms, limiting where she can travel.

So Ms Harrison often has to rely on taxis to get around.

“It’s frustrating because it limits what I can and can’t do, it limits my options of travel and it means I have to drive or get a cab to get around places where it would be a lot easier to jump on a train and go out for the evening,” she said.

Disability motivational speaker Mel Harrison says the lack of lifts at train stations impacts her mobility around the city. Picture: Supplied

“It means I can’t catch the train to work, I can’t get the train to meet friends in the city.”

Transport NSW’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan sets out a timeline when all public transport should be accessible. By 2022 all public transport infrastructure was meant to have lifts, however at least 44 stations in Sydney are without them and some even have no plans.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen, who is still campaigning for a lift at Lewisham station in her electorate, said the government needs to act.

“The state government’s failure to deliver lifts at 100 per cent of stations means that people with a disability, our elderly, and families with prams simply won’t have equality of access to our train system. That’s just not good enough in 2022,” she said.

St Peters train station is one of many Sydney train stations still inaccessible to people who require wheelchairs.

Macquarie Fields locals have been desperately campaigning for a lift for their train station, which 37-year-old Heather Dufour can’t use.

She has fibromyalgia, uses a walker and is unable to climb the vast staircase to catch the train.

“I’m going to be honest – it pisses me off because I feel ­excluded,” she said.

“I have to go to Glenfield and hope the lift there is working, and every now and again it’s not so we just have to come home.

“Transport for NSW continues to plan for the completion of the work required to meet the compliance ­targets,” a spokesman said.

“The accessibility audit will be used to further inform future programs of work.

“Nevertheless, more than $2.2 billion has been invested in the Transport Access Project since 2011, with around 520 projects now completed or underway and almost 90 per cent of customer journeys now beginning from accessible locations.”

Transport for NSW said two-thirds of NSW stations are wheelchair accessible.