Perth, Western Australia (Old Edition) Home News Time Out Letters Write a Letter Special Coverage Walsham Classifieds Search Real Estate Trades & Services Submit About Contact Us Advertising Legal	Station closure hits woman in wheelchair Life without a local train station at weekends and nights will be a strain for Victoria Wardlow, of Graylands, who used to rely on Loch Street station. Victoria Wardlow said she loved living in Graylands, mainly because it was easy for somebody in a wheelchair. It had been easy to get to and from the trains by using Loch Street station, about 150m from her home. But all that changed a week ago. Since then, trains no longer stop at Loch Street or Grant Street stations after 7pm or on weekends. Victoria has enrolled at TAFE this year to study business management. Her timetable means she must go home on a train from Perth at 8pm. This train no longer stops at Loch Street. The closest station for her is Karrakatta, which has no disabled access on the west side. She says Karrakatta is also 1km from her home and the footpaths do not have ramps suitable for wheelchairs. She said: "Closing the station means real problems for a lot of people over 50 and people with mobility problems, like me. "State departments are supposed to work with local councils. "If a station is to close, then paths need to be accessible for wheelchairs to the nearest station. "On top of this, only six weeks ago the bus I used on Alfred Road was cancelled. "I asked for train access when I was looking for housing and Graylands was just right. "Using Karrakatta, especially at night, is very worrying for me." She said that the WA Government Railways had sometimes provided a shuttle bus for passengers from Loch Street to Karrakatta when the Royal Show was on, or on big football days. She said a similar service, or a taxi, should be offered to people in her position, but she had not heard from the WAGR. Brett Inchley, WAGR general manager of urban passenger services, said WAGR was negotiating with regular disabled passengers who would be affected by the reduced services. BACK TO TOP < PREVIOUS - HOME - NEXT> Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Post Newspapers Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.