Hannah Hammoud
Local residents have aired their frustrations about a lack of accessibility at Sunshine Station, with commuters expected to wait weeks for repairs.
Metro Trains said the elevator located on the Station Place side of the station will be out of operation until the end of September.
Commuter Maggie Ralph said the only alternative to access the station is via a ramp which does not cater to her accessibility needs.
Ms Ralph said she suffers from issues with her knees and ankles, and walking on any surface that is not completely flat poses a risk of her rolling an ankle and falling over.
“I’m so worried about reinjuring myself every morning and night on my commute to work,” she said.
“… I have rolled my ankle on slightly angled pavement many times and if I fall it can be really difficult to get up by myself. I also recently tore my ACL, so walking up stairs is a huge amount of pain, and in the last few days I have found myself shaking and crying from the pain.”
Metro Trains said the repairs cannot be made until a replacement part for the elevator arrives but said that the team will work to get the elevator back up and running as soon as possible.
Ms Ralph said it was ‘frustrating’ that such a significant station had no alternative options in the case of an elevator breaking down. She said the addition of escalators at the station would benefit local commuters.
“I’m not sure what I should do about this right now. I feel like my options are to continue at Sunshine [station], either with the fall risk on the ramp or the pain of the stairs. Or to get a bus to another station that I can access, probably Footscray, but that would double my 40 minute commute,” she said.
Ms Ralph said the second elevator, located on the City Place side of the station, has also been consistently malfunctioning.
She said both elevators at the station were recently upgraded to have automatic sensors, but have proved to be more of an inconvenience than an enhancement.
“Often there are two or three loads of lift users on a peak train and so if the lift is full but there are still people waiting outside, the automatic sensor keeps opening the doors at the level it’s on rather than taking the full lift up and coming back. This causes delays for anyone trying to use the lift and is really frustrating,” she said.
Metro Trains said it was made aware of two elevator faults at Sunshine Station on September 4 and had both elevators inspected on the day the faults were reported, with the elevator on the City Place side of the station returned to service on the same day.
Metro Trains said it encourages passengers experiencing difficulties accessing the station to contact 1800 800 007 to organise free alternative transport options.
