Byron Bay Railroad Company is an accredited heritage rail service, not a public transport provider, the company has stated following claims it fails to provide disabled access to its train service.
A reader whose motorised wheelchair-bound friend wanted to use the service brought the issue to Echonetdaily’s attention, saying ‘no wheelchairs can access the passenger carriages and the only place where a wheelchair can get on is in with the driver and then at the other end of the line the driver overshoots the platform so then he can’t get out’.
The reader questioned the legality of the service not providing disabled access, as require in public transport legislation.
But Byron Bay Railroad Company has responded that it is ‘an accredited heritage rail service utilising heritage railway rolling stock… not a public transport provider’.
‘There is a government subsidised public bus service that operates a very similar route,’ a company spokesperson said.
‘In 1949 there were no disability provisions or legislation nor the same awareness of providing access to disabled persons as we have come to expect today. Accordingly the design and construction of the train did not make provision for wheelchair access,’ the spokesperson continued.
She added that even though the NSW Disability Act dates from 1993 and the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act from 1992, ‘the NSW Government continued to operate these trains in daily commuter service until 2007. This is simply because their design doesn’t lend itself to modification to accept wide wheelchairs’.
She said that due to the heritage nature of the train, it was not possible or desirable to modify the original structure.
However she did say that, ‘persons in wheelchairs less than 660mm wide can still ride on the train, including motorised wheelchairs’.
‘They can board and alight at both platforms, however they need to travel in the entrance vestibules. We have one local resident in a motorised wheelchair that regularly catches the train. It is a tight fit but she is able to get on and off the train and enjoy the journey.
‘Our staff and volunteers assist persons with a disability.’
She said that people in wider wheelchairs can enjoy the round trip by boarding at Byron Bay, adding, ‘they ride with the driver and have a driver’s view out the front of the train which most passengers don’t get to see’.
‘There is a daily lunch time service when the train runs from Byron Beach to North Beach and straight back again.
‘Byron Bay Railroad Company has constructed its platforms at North Beach and Byron Beach to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and the Building Code of Australia,’ she said
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