Sydney Trains installs rubber gap fillers at Olympic Park station ahead of Royal Easter Show

Families can focus on showbags and wild rides this Royal Easter Show, with train station platforms upgraded to stop kids falling through the gaps after a shocking number of rescues last year.

Children will be kept extra safe this Royal Easter Show after rubber gap fillers were installed on all platforms at Olympic Park train station to prevent shocking repeat incidents of little kids falling through the platform gap.

The measure comes after 13 out of 15 people who fell between the station platform and train doors last year occurred during the show’s 12-day run, when almost 400,000 people travelled to the event by rail. All 13 of those falls were people under the age of 18.

Sydney Trains installed the rubber fillers at Olympic Park station at the start of this month, just in time for the opening day of the show on Friday.

Minister for Transport John Graham said the safety upgrade would allow families and parents to focus on the festivities.

“Childhood memories of the Royal Easter Show should be all about show bags, rides and the best animals in show – not a frightening fall at the train station on the way,” he said.

Sydney Trains installed rubber gap fillers on all platforms at Olympic Park Station at the start of April.

“We saw the numbers of Easter Show-related falls at Olympic Park last year and we have fast-tracked the installation of gap fillers so a trip to the show is as stress-free as possible for the hundreds of thousands of parents getting their families there by train.

In the last financial year, there were 523 falls across the Sydney Trains network including suburban and intercity lines, with more than a quarter of these incidents involving people under the age of 18.

Families will be able to enjoy the show fun with extra peace of mind.

Rubber gap fillers have been rolled-out at the busiest stations across Sydney including Town Hall, Central and Bondi Junction in the past four years.

Since the fillers have been installed at 26 priority platforms, not a single person has slipped, tripped or fallen through the gap.

Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland said it was high time the safety upgrade was extended to Olympic Park right before one of the busiest events in the calendar.

“There are always big crowds visiting the Easter Show every year, and many of those will arrive by train, so this safety measure will offer parents some added peace of mind,” he said.

Train stations at Epping, Lidcombe, Strathfield, Blacktown, Hurstville and Sydenham are also due to receive the safety upgrade in the next two years, with the next installation booked for platform 16 at Central Station from April 26-27.

Originally published as Sydney Trains installs rubber gap fillers at Olympic Park station ahead of Royal Easter Show