‘A real kick in the teeth’: Dozens of tram stops have been upgraded, but wheelchair users still can’t board

Dozens of tram stops in Melbourne’s north-west built or altered to accommodate the city’s new extra-long G-class trams have failed to provide long-overdue disabled access improvements.

Advocates say that the snub has further contributed to the discriminatory nature of the city’s wider tram network. Victoria is years behind a previously legislated deadline to make all tram stops accessible by 2022.

While there is no automatic penalty for missing this target, it opens up the possibility of legal action being brought forward.

More than 30 stops across the route 57 and route 59 trams are involved in the network’s “next generation” tram upgrades. Fifteen of these stops have either been merged and relocated or shifted.

The project started in late 2025 and is necessary to accommodate the city’s new G-class trams. The updated design – which commenced public services on June 30 – is 25 metres, longer than previous models.

But despite the ongoing substantial upgrade works to facilitate the new kind of tram, there are no accompanying plans to improve accessibility by building more “level-access” platforms.

This important design feature involves erecting a raised platform that sits in line with low-floor trams such as the G-class. It allows wheelchair users, elderly travellers, people pushing prams and others with access needs to board.

Even if a tram has a low-floor design, it can’t cater to those with access needs at a roadside stop.

Disability advocate Andrew Bretherton said it was extremely difficult for people living with disability to navigate Melbourne’s tram system.

“It means we can’t get out and access the community. We’re not seen by the broader public … We’re kind of just left isolated in our own homes,” he said.

“It’s going to cost [the government] more in the long run anyway because they’ve been mandated to make all these stops accessible. Why are we paying twice for the same thing? It just seems like a real kick in the teeth.”

Five additional level-access stops are in development along route 82 following community feedback during 2023 and 2024. Future works along this route to accommodate the G-class trams are also expected to be announced.

On route 57, two level-access platforms were added last year at Queen Victoria Market and at Union Road in Flemington. Major upgrades to the North Melbourne tram corridor are also being considered by the Department of Transport.

But just 24 per cent of stops along the entire route 57 have level-access platforms, while half of the stops on the route 59 provide level access.

Across the network, only 29 per cent of tram stops provide level access, according to the latest data from the Victoria Auditor-General in March 2025.

A further 12 level-access stops were built across the city during the 2024-25 financial year, slightly more than the original target of eight.

Bretherton called the current state of the network a form of segregation and said the state government had broken its promise.

“[The government] thinks it’s in a microcosm, where we can just shed off disability,” he said. “It reinforces that burden narrative that is often forced or placed onto the disability community.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Transport did not respond to questions on why level-access platform upgrades had not been scheduled to coincide with the other works on the 57 and 59 routes.

They said level platform upgrades were currently in progress at stops in other suburbs – including Footscray, Northcote and Brunswick.

“We are delivering upgraded tram stops for the new larger G-class trams to make it easier and safer for more Victorians to take trams to school and work,” the spokesperson said.

Recent changes to route 59 stops associated with the G-class tram works have also prompted a mixed response from Flemington residents.

One, Haydn Moyle, said stops in his suburb were moved suddenly, and the short community consultation period coincided with the Christmas holiday.

Moyle is particularly critical of the decision to move the stop at the corner of Wellington Street and Mount Alexander Road. The former stop was positioned at an existing signalised pedestrian crossing, which made it easy to walk to the nearby primary and high schools.

The stop has since been merged with its neighbour as part of the upgrades and is now roughly 150 metres down the street. The Department of Transport recently finished building a signalised crossing at the new location.

Moonee Valley City Council also built a small pocket park at the former tram stop site, which acted as an informal extension of the waiting area for city bound trams. Mayor Rose Iser said this would remain an important community space.

Moyle said: “I realised they were changing the [stop] here, and I thought that was really stupid. Because that’s obviously the best place for the tram, for the convenience of local people.”

“You’ve got 1500 kids every morning who are traversing the roads. So it’s important to get it right,” he said.

But Peter Egan, who owns bike repair shop Smooth Cycles on Mount Alexander Road, said moving the stop would improve road safety in the area.

Egan said the busy Flemington intersection was confusing and dangerous for cars and pedestrians. He said there were road incidents every fortnight and near misses even more frequently.

“It’s taking one aspect of complexity out of the intersection,” Egan said. “It’s a good thing … I find it a minor inconvenience for people.”

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