11.17 am, Thursday May 24 2012

Martin Place upgrade in time for Anzac Day

12:21 AEDT Wed Apr 20 2011
VIEWS: 0
| FLOCKS: 0
| comments0 comments so far
Also on
Fake filmTeen suspended over bullying vid No chuteDaredevil leaps from helicopter Tipping overTruck filmed losing control 'Too hot'Woman 'fired for good looks' Grease bombEggs and bacon in roll heaven Chelsy DavyChelsy girlHarry says she's 'the one'

An easy access upgrade of Sydney's Martin Place Railway Station has been completed in time for Anzac Day celebrations.

The $7.5 million upgrade includes the installation of two lifts at the station, new accessible toilets and tactile indicators for the vision-impaired.

NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the lifts would make it easier for veterans and families planning to travel to dawn services in the city.

"We are encouraging people to use public transport on Anzac Day and across the Easter long weekend," she told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

"This station has about five million trips per year go through it.

"So the fact that those people ... who don't have access to the station, can do so through this lift is a great, positive initiative."

The announcement of the new facility was briefly interrupted by former Labor planning minister Frank Sartor, who called out "We've been waiting ages for this" as he passed through the station.

Ms Berejiklian smiled and waved him off.

She said there will be extra services to and from Martin Place to cater for over 4000 commuters expected to use the facilities on Anzac Day.

Free travel will also be provided to current and former members of the Australian Defence Force.

Ms Berejiklian said the government is putting $60 million towards more easy access upgrades to other neighbouring stations.

"Only about 41 per cent of CityRail stations currently have easy access," she said.

"The boost we are putting into the program will mean more stations, more quickly can have this type of service."

Physical Disability Council of NSW worker Ben Williams, 26, welcomed the announcement.

"It is a real, great step forward for accessibility in the Sydney area," he said.

Anzac services will be held in Martin Place on Monday, April 25.

 

Most popular

 Student suspended over anti-bullying videoA US high school student who created a Facebook page and YouTube video about a fictional character to teach her classmates about bullying was suspended after she made the character kill herself.
 Video captures truck driver tipping over on bendIt's the last thing you want to see while taking a nice scenic drive in the countryside.
 Memoir used as evidence against fraudA Tasmanian grandmother who claimed $200,000 over 16 years from the single person disability pension is facing jail after she revealed in an autobiography that she had a live-in husband.
 Woman gets trapped in chair for two daysAn 84-year-old Swedish woman was trapped for two days in a folding chair after it broke and she was unable to free herself.
 Man accessed child porn with son's library card

A Tasmanian man accidentally downloaded child pornography from a library using his son's library card, a court has heard.

 UK mum, 31, sent home hours before deathPathologists are yet to determine what killed an English dance teacher who collapsed and died hours after being sent home from hospital.
 Man, 64, falls 4m, neighbour, 69, chargedA Sydney man will face court after he allegedly pushed his neighbour from a second-floor balcony.
 UK daredevil skydives without parachuteA British stuntman became the world's first skydiver to land without a parachute on Wednesday, falling 731 metres (2,400 feet) to drop safely onto a crash-pad of cardboard boxes.
 Drunk Russian bride-to-be kicks man to death

An inebriated 22-year-old woman from the central Russian region of Udmurtiya kicked a man to death on the eve of her wedding because he owed her money, investigators said on Wednesday.

 Sydney woman 'bit off boyfriend's tongue'A Sydney woman allegedly bit off part of her boyfriend's tongue during an argument at a Kings Cross motel late on Tuesday night.
Be our fan on Facebook
Most Recommended
You need the latest version of Flash Player.
Enjoy the most vivid content on the web
Watch video without extra features
Interact with applications on your favourite sites
Upgrade now

page complete