By VANESSA VALENZUELA
DERRIMUT MP Telmo Languiller has called on the State Government to upgrade Ginifer station and create better disability access for St Albans residents.
In Parliament, Mr Languiller appealed to the Minister for Public Transport to create a pedestrian crossing on the Willaton Rd side of the station.
“The area around Ginifer is home to a large ageing population, predominantly made up of people who migrated here after the Second World War,” he said last month.
“A significant community of people with disabilities live in the area. There are many people who use wheelchairs, particularly on the platform on the Willaton Rd side.”
“There are also many people who are sight impaired, and there is also a community in the vicinity with intellectual disabilities.”
Mr Languiller said he had visited the station on several occasions and had observed of how difficult it was for people with physical or intellectual issues to cross Willaton Rd.
This is the second time Mr Languiller has called on the State Government to upgrade the run-down station.
Last August, Mr Languiller had asked the Minister for Transport to “get on with the job to ensure that there are no fatalities and that an upgrade is done before fatalities occur.”
“It is very clear why there have been so many near misses in which wheelchairs have almost toppled,” he said.
Voluntary worker Sylvia Curmi, who cares for a number of people with disabilities, said she was disappointed there had been no improvements at Ginifer station over the last few years.
Ms Curmi said the space between the platforms was too steep and she often feared that a wheelchair would topple over or fall through the “unbelievable” gap.
“We usually have to get off right at the end of platform 2 and the steepness and the huge gap between the platform is disgusting,” she said.
“Every train driver that helps us get off the train always complains and say we should do something about it. It takes at least three of four people to get one wheelchair off because of the steepness and gap.”
“We have been fighting for a long time. We have done petitions and all but nothing seems to work for some reason.”
