Nicolas Iorio doesn’t want apologies from Connex, instead he wants the train operator to ensure no wheelchair-bound passenger is ever left behind again.
By Glen Atwell
NICOLAS Iorio was left stranded at Huntingdale Railway Station last Monday, after being told by a Connex train driver that the service he wanted to board was already full.
The wheelchair-bound Cranbourne resident was left shocked again on Tuesday when the train operator blamed members of the public for the incident, and supported the actions of its driver.
Nicolas, 23, was on his way home from work and a physiotherapy appointment, and was waiting at the front of the platform so the train driver could assist him in boarding.
But the driver took one look at the crowded front carriage and told Nicolas he would have to wait for the next train.
Nicolas was stunned.
“It was 40 degrees and the driver was telling me I’d have to wait another hour,” he said.
“I asked the driver to put me on another carriage.”
The driver refused and said company policy prevented him from asking passengers to move.
“So he went back to the first carriage and asked a few passengers if there was room for a wheelchair. They all answered ‘no’.”
Despite his continued pleas to be boarded, the driver returned to his cabin and the train rolled out of the station, leaving Nicolas behind.
“There are retractable seats in every front carriage to specifically cater for wheelchair passengers, yet no-one would move,” Nicolas said.
“I don’t expect a special service, we all pay the same fare, but I can’t understand why the driver could not make more of an effort.”
Nicolas phoned his mother Patricia, who panicked at the thought of her son stranded in searing heat.
“There was no point me driving out there, because the next train would have beaten me, I felt helpless,” she said. “I can’t believe a Connex driver would leave the station without ensuring my son was on board.”
But Connex customer care representative Andre Hernandez said its driver acted reasonably and fairly.
“The driver’s job is to ensure the train operates in a safe and efficient manner, and also to assist wheelchair-bound passengers boarding and disembarking the train,” he said.
“If there is no room for a passenger to comfortably board a service, the driver can recommend the customer board the next train, and this is what happened.”
Mr Hernandez said the driver can not force passengers to move or change carriages.
“The driver can ask, and often passengers comply, but in this case, no-one was willing to move to allow Nicolas to board the train,” he said.
Nicolas said he didn’t want a formal apology, but insisted that the troubled operator ensure the incident does not happen again.
“I’m not expecting the driver to kick people off the train, but Connex needs to alter its policies to make sure that wheelchair-bound passengers have the chance to board every service, just like able bodied passengers do.”
