Wheelchair user left trapped at tram stop
ASHLEY HAD TO WAIT ON PLATFORM FOR AN HOUR DUE TO BROKEN LIFT
A WHEELCHAIR user was stuck on a Metrolink platform for an hour because of a broken lift at the tram stop.
Ashley Armstrong, who is 28 and has cerebral palsy, said he repeatedly tried to call staff for assistance from the stop in Prestwich but no one answered his calls.
The Walkden resident, who was travelling from Piccadilly on Sunday, arrived at Heaton Park tram stop at around 3pm to find that the lift was broken.
He kept pressing the passenger assistance button on the platform and tried calling the number on his phone.
Eventually, he gave up and had to take another tram to the next stop and come back on himself to use the lift on the other side.
But he could not board the next tram with his wheelchair because it was too full and was delayed further by the reduced Sunday service.
He said: “It was stressful. It was very inconvenient really. I was sat there pressing the button that you would expect to be working and I got no answer.”
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has apologised about Ashley’s experience, explaining that the lift at Heaton Park tram stop had been ‘vandalised’ on March 10.
The transport authority said the lift has now been fixed and is working again as of this week.
But Ashley believes there should have been a message on the board at
Piccadilly warning him about the issue.
And he has questioned why no one answered when he pressed the ‘socalled’ passenger assistance button on the platform, asking: “What is the point?”
He added: “There also should be a message on the lines with lifts at tram stops when lifts are out of order. People in wheelchairs or people with mobility issues and prams should not have to find this out the hard way such as when they get to their destination.”
According to TfGM’s website, all 99 stops on the Metrolink network have step-free access, but some rely on lifts or escalators.
The website says that lifts and escalators at seven tram stops are currently out of service including at Besses O’th Barn and Cornbrook.
TfGM’s head of Metrolink Danny Vaughan said: “We are sorry to hear about the issues faced by this customer, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. We have now passed on the details of this customers experience to the Metrolink operator so they can investigate.
“Unfortunately, the lift at Heaton Park was vandalised on 10th March and we were waiting for the parts needed to repair it. However, the lift has been returned to service as of this week.”