General News
24 April, 2026
Calls for increased accessibility for trains
A DISABILTY self-advocacy group is calling for more awareness and assistance at the Camperdown Station, including increased carriage numbers on trains.
RAISE Your Voice Colac, which has many Camperdown members, has also called for the reinstatement of the booking system which has been paused during the free public transport period.
Member Nicola Delaney said the group was passionate about people with disabilities being able to access all the services and supports they need to live, work and play in their communities.
“Often in smaller towns like Camperdown, it’s hard to access essential everyday supports so it can mean people are needing to travel to Colac or Warrnambool,” she said.
“Many of our group members rely on public transport, and we’ve heard from a lot of people who feel isolated because they can’t use public transport or don’t feel confident using it.
“We have been talking about moving the group to Camperdown so more people can be involved – we’re really keen to try to advocate for change in the community.
“Our numbers are limited at the moment, so we’re trying to grow the group as well.
“We want to be a part of making the change as well – we haven’t decided how yet, but we want to raise awareness of things like the sunflower lanyard and how to use the booking system once that’s back up and running.”
Ellie Blackney, a Camperdown resident and a member of the group, said one of the key accessibility issues for her has been the lack of assistance for those with a disability to board or get off trains and coaches.
“It can be a bit tricky with the buses because not all of them are designed for people who use walking sticks or walkers to get on – particularly for those who have issues with stairs,” she said.
“The disabled parking is a bit of a distance away from platform.
“When the station’s closed, it’s even longer as you have to walk right around the outside of the building to get to the disabled parking in poor lighting.
“At the moment, it’s not very clear about when the station is going to be open and manned – the V/Line website says it’s open and manned until 8pm – 9pm on some nights and weekends, but there’s only someone there until 4pm at the latest.
“That can be make it confusing for people, especially when people want to request assistance or to know where the safest place to park is.”
Ms Delaney said the free public transport period, a Victorian State Government initiative to encourage residents to reduce fuel usage, has added additional issues for those with disabilities.
“With the trains being crowded, it’s very hard to get a seat a lot of the time,” she said.
“That means people don’t feel confident catching or attempting to catch the train if they’ve got sensory processing concerns.
“There’s often not a quiet carriage on the train as well because there’s only three carriages.
“There are some tools V/Line has brought in to help their staff be more aware of people’s disabilities such as the sunflower lanyard scheme.
“You often find the local station staff and bus drivers aren’t necessarily aware of things V/Line says they should be aware of.”
Ms Blackney said she was hoping for more awareness for those with disabilities, meaning people can get the help they need to access public transport and the accommodations to do so.
“It’d be good to have a space for luggage and bikes as you often find they’re in the disabled spots and you can’t access them because people are leaving their bikes, luggage and prams there – there’s nowhere for people to put those things,” she said.
“We want to be like everyone else – get on a train and go about our business.
“We might need a little bit of extra help, but we want to do what everyone else does without barriers.”
Ms Delaney said the lack of accessibility for train services didn’t just impact those with disabilities – it impacts the whole community due to the crowded services.
“Just because we’re in the country doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have the same rights as people in the city – they have big trains with lots of carriages and country people have to be all shoved in like sheep in a truck,” she said.
“It’s not really fair – we pay the same taxes, we should get the same service.
“It’s an issue which affects people in the area, but disproportionately affects people with disability.
“We’re hoping we can do something in increasing that awareness, not just in the general community but for V/Line to offer that training to all station staff.”