Lift access ... train commuters at Redfern Station. Photo: Kate Geraghty
Redfern Station will finally be upgraded with a wheelchair-accessible platform.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian told Parliament on Thursday that lift access would be provided for one platform at Redfern, allowing people in wheelchairs to access the station via Central Station.
Redfern Station is a major transport hub on the network, with 50,000 customers passing through the station every day.
Campaigners have been agitating for an upgrade of Redfern Station, which is one of the 10 busiest in Sydney, for more than a decade.
It has no disabled access on any of its 12 platforms, meaning anyone in a wheelchair needing to get to Sydney University or the Australian Technology Park by train needs to travel to Central Station and then catch a bus back.
Ms Berejiklian said a tender had been issued for a design for lift access to one platform, but it had not been determined which platform.
If one platform had a lift, it would mean someone in a wheelchair needing to travel to Redfern by train, if not travelling directly to the upgraded platform, could catch a train to Central and then transfer back to the upgraded platform at Redfern.
“At the moment it is virtually impossible for people in wheelchairs to access trains at Redfern, and extremely difficult for parents with prams and the elderly, so this is a good start to ensure all customers can access the network at Redfern,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Redfern Station is a major transport hub on the network, with 50,000 customers passing through the station every day, and this project will ensure we can provide access to everyone," she said.
It emerged last week that Transport for NSW had requested $500,000 from the federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport to fund a plan to upgrade Redfern. The department recommended to the Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, that he approve the funding, but Mr Albanese rejected the proposal because Redfern Station was next to his wife Carmel Tebbutt's seat of Marrickville.
Ms Tebbutt said she had no knowledge of Mr Albanese's decision and would continue to campaign for a station upgrade.
A spokesman for community group REDWatch, Geoff Turnbull, said he welcomed Ms Berejiklian's announcement as an "interim solution".
"We are happy that we've got this, but it is not the ultimate solution," Mr Turnbull said.
"The ultimate solution is obviously to upgrade the station so there is access on every platform."
Mr Turnbull said REDWatch had asked for a lift on platforms 11 and 12, which is where the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra lines cut through Redfern. Those platforms were newer and wider and could more easily accommodate a lift, Mr Turnbull said.
One of the reasons governments have been reluctant to upgrade Redfern Station is that it has long intersected with plans for another rail crossing of the CBD and harbour.
Governments have not wanted to spend money on the station when it might be substantially rebuilt if that second rail crossing was ever constructed.
Ms Berejiklian said: “Redfern is a large station with many challenges - obviously there is considerable planning work being undertaken at the moment which involves examining the future of this important precinct and the rail corridor - however lift access to Redfern is a pressing issue and I feel it is so important we act now to address it.”
Source: www.smh.com.au/nsw/redfern-station-to-get-lift-says-berejiklian-20130815-2rytc.html