Parliament station commuters injured in falls from city’s longest escalator

Disorientated commuters are struggling to stay upright on escalators at one of Melbourne’s busiest train stations, where up to three serious falls are recorded a week.

Disorientated commuters are struggling to stay upright on escalators at one of Melbourne’s busiest train stations, where up to three serious falls are recorded every week.

Metro Trains will launch a new passenger safety campaign after a study examined the number of people hurt on the large escalators at Parliament and Melbourne Central.

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Figures show more than 600 incident reports about escalator injuries have been filed over the past decade and the majority of these took place in the underground tunnels at Parliament Station.

The escalators are thought to be the longest in the southern hemisphere and the study found the lighting, colours and layout of the space might be distracting passengers.

Melbourne's longest escalators at Parliament station.

“We’re looking at new and innovative ways to ensure passengers keep safe on escalators — because the research clearly shows that accidents do happen,” Metro general manager of safety and security Anthony Fewster said.

“The study found that many of the accidents came from distractions to passengers travelling along the escalators, while many were also believed to be disorientated by the lighting and colours scheme of the tunnels.”

Metro has recorded new safety messages and has launched a new advertising blitz to improve safety.

Upgrades are being made, including anti-slip floor treatments and improved lighting.

The operator estimates between two and three serious accidents happen every week and wants to reduce this figure in 2019.

The vertigo-inducing escalators at Parliament station.

RMIT researchers analysed each report and went through CCTV footage of falls to determine the details. The results of the study show that:

44 PER CENT of people fell back when travelling upwards on a moving escalator;

22 PER CENT of people fell forward on a downward moving escalator;

28 PER CENT fell down mid escalator despite already having a solid footing.

Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne said: “As we head into the holiday season, I really encourage people to take extra care as they’re travelling the rail network.

“A simple loss of balance is all it takes to cause a serious accident on an escalator — that’s why it’s so important for people to stay safe.”

About 22 per cent of people who fell on station escalators were in company and during some accidents both people lost their balance.

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