Petition calls for upgrades to Lewisham train station, including a lift and solution to flooding issues

MORE than 600 people have signed a petition for a lift at an inner west train station.

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THE Baird Government should urgently install a lift and fix flooding issues at the Lewisham train station because residents are sick of waiting for an upgrade to the rail hub, the local member has said.

Summer Hill state Labor MP Jo Haylen last month launched her “upgrade Lewisham Station” petition and more than 600 people have added their voice to the campaign since then.

“The Lewisham and Dulwich Hill communities have been waiting way too long for a lift at this station,” Ms Haylen told the Inner West Courier.

“For parents with prams, people with disabilities, our elderly and even people just carrying luggage to the train, it becomes almost impossible (to use the station) without a lift.”

Ms Haylen said upgrades to the train station were also desperately needed as the area was experiencing substantial population growth.

“We can see hundreds of apartments going up just down the road,” she said.

“It’s one of the most highly utilised stations along this line without a lift.”

The petition will be tabled in State Parliament, with the State Government required to provide a response because of the number of signatures garnered.

“We look forward to a positive response,” Ms Haylen said.

Kate Bullen, mother to eight-month-old Eleanor, lives halfway between Lewisham and Dulwich Hill train stations but the latter also has no lift.

“I have to catch the bus everywhere but the problem is some buses — even (those) that look relatively new — don’t have pram spaces,” she said. “I can be waiting at a bus stop for 40 minutes for an accessible route.

“If the bus gets to me and it is already halfway through its route, and its already got two prams on it, then I just have to wait for the next one.

“If trains were accessible, then obviously trains fit heaps of people on them.”

Ms Bullen said she did attempt to use the train station at times but it was a frustrating and tiring experience.

“If there’s somebody at the station, normally they’ll offer to help lift the pram,” she said.

“We don’t have a car so public transport is our only transport. We have to plan routes, or plan what we’re doing for the day by, ‘well we can’t catch the train’.”

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said: “Under the Transport Access Program, Lewisham station had minor works and safety upgrades completed in 2015 as part of a $20 million safety boost across the train network.

“Transport Access Program projects are planned and delivered under a prioritisation assessment framework. This ensures the community can have confidence that works will be delivered where and when they are needed most,” she said.

FLOOD OF CONCERN

Flooding issues could be a thing of the past at Lewisham train station if Jo Haylen gets her way. Ms Haylen has called on the State Government to fix the drainage problem. “The (pedestrian) tunnel floods regularly and residents shouldn’t have to wear gum boots to work to get on a train,” she said.

The TfNSW spokeswoman said: “Work is currently underway to fix drainage around Lewisham station which could lead to flooding during extreme weather events”.