Parliament — Local services in Melbourne

Accessibility review from the perspective of a manual wheelchair user:

Entrance: There is one lift from the street to the concourse, however it is only at one of the multiple entrances and is not clearly signed, as well as being frequently out of order with no notice given - making using the station impossible without using a flight of stairs and at least one escalator.

There is one elevator between the concourse and each platform. It is not signposted in an accessible format (no braille, not in high contrast, and vague wording that doesn't tell you where it is, meaning you have to walk farther to reach it) and it is usually on the opposite end to the accessible boarding area, forcing wheelchair users to push much further to get to the train.

Bathroom: There is one regular accessible bathroom, I haven't used it in a while so cannot comment. There is no changing places bathroom so no adult changing tables, hoists or other equipment.

Assistance: there is no travellers aid, and the station is not staffed at night.

Getting onto the train: As with all metro trains in Melbourne, there is a ramp on the very front carriage that the driver places down. The issue with Parliament station is there is no signage to indicate which side of the platform is the front, meaning you either have to memorise every train from trial and error or sit in the middle of the platform and then make a mad dash for the front, hoping that the driver notices you. Sometimes they refuse to put down the ramp unless you are waiting in the "correct" spot (which of course you have no way of knowing where is). There are also no staff to ask, and no indicator which direction is Melbourne Central and which is Flagstaff.

All in all, a very hard to use station unless you are...

Parliament railway station is an underground station on the metro network in Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations (and one of three underground) on the City Loop, which encircles the Melbourne CBD. In 2011/12 it was the 4th busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 10.7 million passenger movements . The station platforms were constructed using mining methods. Each platform is an individual tunnel, and are linked to the other platform in the same level by a number of cross tunnels. This choice in design left the remaining pillar of rock between the tunnels too weak to support the required loads, so it was replaced with concrete. A pilot tunnel was made, enabling the walls to be constructed ahead of the main excavation. The booking hall to the south was constructed 'upside down', with the support columns dug with augers from ground level, then filled with concrete. The roof was then constructed over these piles from ground level during a series of staged road closures, and once this was completed the excavation of the booking hall could be carried out underneath, while road traffic continued overhead. During construction the Parliament House fence had to be removed, stored then re-erected. The station opened on 22 January 1983. At the time of opening the station had the longest escalators in the...

Well located and able to be reached easily by people around the Parliament House and the suburbs nearby. Very close to other transportation networks, like trams, which are going towards Melbourne’s iconic places such as: Fitzroy, Bourke St., Collins St., Richmond as well as the city circle tram. The station itself has multiple entrances/exits, which are located at Collins St., Bourke St., Lonsdale St. and McArthur St. However, not all entrances/exits have lift or disability access. I’m pretty sure the only entrance that has the access for the disabilities only at the Lonsdale St. entrance. I could say that even in the station itself, I couldn’t really find the access to the lift (especially for disability reasons) besides the veeeeery long escalator. Or it actually should be there, just the sign is not vlear enough for people to see. This is not the main, big station. therefore, do not expect (usually on Monday to Friday) to get your direct train service to your destination without changing the train at Flinders St. this station is reachable on Monday to Friday via the city loop train since they don’t always stop at all stations in the city loop. While at the weekends, most of the train services will always come through...