Join our petition blitz and help get a lift at Doonside train station for its 136th birthday

IT HAS been 136 years since Doonside station opened. That is 136 years the station has not had access for the elderly, parents with prams and people with disabilities.

Warren Hardy (yellow cap) and Blacktown Mayor Stephen Bali (back row, right) with commuters at Doonside train station.

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IT HAS been 136 years since Doonside station opened. That is 136 years the station has not had access for the elderly, parents with prams and people with disabilities.

The community has missed out more times than it can count on funding for a lift or a ramp, but it refuses to give up the fight.

Next Tuesday (September 27), to coincide with the station’s 136th anniversary, Blacktown Council will launch a petition blitz to lobby the State Government to allocate money for a lift.

The joint Blacktown Advocate and Blacktown Council campaign first reached out to the public in April, calling on volunteers to doorknock households in the area and gather signatures for the petition.

Blacktown Mayor Stephen Bali said the petition had about 7000 signatures and needed 3000 more before it could be presented in State Parliament.

“It’s an important piece of infrastructure given all the people we have with disabilities, the aged and parents with prams,” he said.

Commuters have been denied access at Doonside train station.

Other western Sydney stations are set to improve but not Doonside.

“It’s been 136 years since the station was built; it’s about time they finish it off.”

Doonside commuter Warren Hardy said he decided to get involved in the campaign after noticing all the people in wheelchairs and with prams trying unsuccessfully to access the platform at Doonside ­station.

“Anyone in Doonside with a motor scooter or wheelchair can’t fit through the barrier,” he said.

“They have no other option but to go to Blacktown station.”

Mr Hardy said the station’s 136th anniversary would be the ideal time for the Transport Minister to commit funding for a lift, but he was sceptical he would do that.

“I’ve personally written to the Premier and also the Transport Minister no fewer than nine times, inviting them to visit the station, and they won’t come,” he said.

Recently, the State Government committed to building lifts at Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Easy access upgrades are also planned at Toongabbie, Pendle Hill, Wentworthville and Rooty Hill train ­stations.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Andrew Constance said an accessibility upgrade at Doonside station would continue to be considered under the government’s Transport Access Program.

“Improving access to public transport is one of our key priorities as a government,” he said.

“It’s why we’re investing $890 million over four years on station upgrades to make them more accessible.’’

ACCESS FOR ALL BUT ONE DENIED

Doonside is surrounded by train stations that have lifts or are earmarked for easy access upgrades.

These include Pendle Hill and Seven Hills, which were built after Doonside.

Pendle Hill’s upgrade is due to be completed this year while Seven Hills has been equipped with two lifts for almost a decade.

Here’s a historical snapshot.

● Doonside station opened on September 27, 1880. It was rebuilt in the 1950s when the Western Line was electrified. It has no wheelchair

accessibility.

● Blacktown station opened on July 2, 1860, with the construction of the Western Line. The station received a major rebuild in 1995 with the addition of an extra platform and the provision of lift access to all platforms.

● Seven Hills station opened on December 1, 1863. It was modified significantly in 2007-2008 when a central overhead booking office opened and lifts were installed.

● Toongabbie station opened on April 26, 1880. An accessibility upgrade, including lift access to the station, was announced in

2015.

● Rooty Hill station opened on December 23, 1861, as the terminus of the Western Line when it was extended from Blacktown. Funding for accessibility upgrades was announced in 2015.

● Pendle Hill station opened on April 12, 1924. Upgrade works started this year and include a footbridge, concourse and lifts.

THE FACTS

● Disabled people: 840 people or 6.4% of the population

● Couples and single parents with children under the age of 15: 978

● Residents over the age of 60: 1949

● Children under the age of 5: 941 or 7.2% of residents

Source: 2011 census data