Disabled woman disappointed Warrnambool to Melbourne service unable to accommodate wheelchair

Merrilyn Reid, who uses an electric wheelchair, booked her ticket on Saturday.

"I was informed at the time that buses would replace trains and it was hoped they would have wheelchair lifters," Mrs Reid said.

She received a call early on Monday from a taxi service asking whether her wheelchair could fit into a boot.

Mrs Reid advised them it didn't. When she arrived at the train station at 6.05am, staff advised her a taxi was on its way. However, Mrs Reid received a further call from the taxi service saying it didn't have one available.

Mrs Reid left the station at 6.40am when it became clear she wouldn't make it to her 10am appointment in Melbourne. She said it was not the first time she had been let down by the service.

Several years ago, when she was living in Portland, she caught a bus to Warrnambool. However, when she arrived she was unable to take her wheelchair on the train and there was no taxi available to take her to Melbourne. "There's no reason it should happen. I had to get up at 3am because it takes me that long to get ready because I'm in a wheelchair."

Mrs Reid said she was lucky she wasn't out of pocket for the cancelled appointment.

"It's frustrating because there's so much involved with organising my support workers to make an outing happen," she said.

V/Line chief executive officer Matt Carrick apologised upon learning of Mrs Reid's situation.

"We would like to sincerely apologise to the passenger for their experience and we are investigating the incident as a matter of priority," Mr Carrick said.

"We're committed to ensuring our network is accessible. There's always more that can be done. This year's budget delivers $157.8 million for accessibility and amenity upgrades - including across V/Line train services."

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