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How Melbourne's $15 million Metro falls short on accessibility

Physical Disability Australia (PDA)

Key Facts:

PDA exists for its members, who fuel our mission to “enable every Australian living with a physical disability to realise their full potential”.

Through our work, we advocate to government, create equal opportunities, promote diversity and inclusion and ensure that our values within the organisation (and our representation of Australians living with physical disability) are reflected, upheld and defended.

Established in 1995, PDA is one of a very small handful of Australian disability organisations that actually has members and board representation in every Australian state and territory. With physical disability affecting 76.8% of Australia’s disability community, our organisation represents the largest disability category in our country. It is this visible and all-encompassing national footprint that ensures PDA truly has its finger on the pulse of disability in our country. This unique representative stance provides us with a strong voice and position to ensure that our organisation and members are heard and part of Australia’s disability conversation.

Together with the support of our incredible members and the ongoing work of our Board, we will continue to shine as an informed, influential, visible, active and connected organisation that puts disability rights at the forefront of all that we do.

How Melbourne’s $15 million Metro falls short on accessibility

 

For immediate release

PDA’s CEO, Jeremy Muir, recently  wrote to VIC Minister for Transport Infrastructure/Public and Active Transport, The Hon Gabrielle Williams MP, voicing concern over accessibility failings of Metro Tunnel stations.

Flagged as a major concern by PDA’s VIC Director, Robert Wise, and VIC Associate Director, Sean Tyrell, safety and accessibility ramifications of uneven heights between platforms and trains needs to be urgently addressed and rectified - not just for those with disabilities, mobility issues and people travelling with children in prams, but for all commuters.

The Herald Sun ran a story on July 4^th, stating that "New station platforms in the $15bn Metro Tunnel, that were designed to allow wheelchair access, do not line up with the height of train floors, posing a potential hazard. A raised gap of up to two-inches was identified during train testing at CBD platforms in the new tunnel."

With this exposé apparently failing to induce the Victorian Government to immediately address these blatant accessibility and safety concerns, it is commuters who will ultimately pay the cost of unsafe and inaccessible transport on this new Metro tunnel route – ironically touted by Victorian government officials as providing “some of the most accessible stations on [the] network [alllowing] passengers with wheelchairs [to] be able to directly roll on and off the new platforms without using a ramp.”

PDA’s Robert Wise, who regularly uses this route as a wheelchair user, has encountered problems with independently entering and exiting the trains as a result of the two inch height difference between the platform and train floor. “Much of my travel is done alone and without any support. Prior to the Metro Tunnel work this had never been an issue for me and I was capable of utilising the line. Now I have to navigate and access a barrier to my independence and rights as a commuter and a person living with disability.”

Jeremy Muir, PDA’s CEO, has called for the Victorian government’s Transport Minister to ensure that this height difference is addressed quickly and effectively – allowing travel access and safety to be a given on the Metro’s driving belief that “rail should be all inclusive, bringing independence and confidence to everyone, whatever their circumstance”.¹ “I was excited about the commencement of the new Metro Tunnel and utilising it to get around Melbourne more independently, but now it appears that may not be possible. This failure to deliver an accessible and safe public transport route not only fails people with disability, but also people with mobility issues, parents travelling with prams and small children – in fact anyone commuting. Hopefully this is something that is addressed ahead of the line opening and being deemed fit for travel.”

 

The letter to The Hon Gabrielle Williams MP is available here.

 

1.  J004357-AAP-Booklet-ƒ_INT.pdf

About us:

Physical Disability Australia (PDA) is a national peak Disability Peoples Organisation (DPO) run by people with physical disability for people with physical disability.

Contact details:

Please direct all media inquiries to Jeremy Muir on 0414 422 987 or by emailing [email protected]

 

For more information please contact Natasha Nobay (Communications and Engagement Manager) at PDA on 0477 974 056 or email [email protected]