In the last two weeks, the state government has pledged to install lifts at six stations – five of which are used by fewer people than Unanderra station.
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One of them sees three times fewer commuters than Unanderra.
On January 15, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian visited the seat of Goulburn, held by retiring Liberal MP Pru Goward.
With the new candidate Wendy Tuckerman next to her, the Premier announced Moss Vale station would get an upgrade, which would include lifts.
Last week Transport Minister Andrew Constance announced that five consecutive stations on the Central Coast would all get lifts if the government was re-elected in March.
Four of the five stations – Lisarow, Ourimbah, Niagara Park and Narara – are in the seat of The Entrance, won by Labor at the last election and held by a very slim margin.
According to statistics from Transport for NSW, an average of 950 commuters use Unanderra station every day.
Of the six station upgrades announced by the government in the last two weeks, only one is used by more commuters – Tuggerah with 2960 a day.
The next highest is Narara with 770 commuters a day while the lowest is Niagara Park with just 300 a day – three times less than Unanderra.
Additionally most of these stations are just a few kilometres apart, which raises the question of why they all need to be done while Unanderra residents have a nine-kilometre drive to the nearest wheelchair-accessible station.
Mr Constance’s office declined to comment on questions of whether the promise of four station upgrades in The Entrance electorate was a vote-sweetener to try and see the Liberals regain the seat.
READ MORE: Unanderra station “should have been funded”
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the reason five consecutive Central Coast stations would be done at the same time was down to convenience.
“The Central Coast stations identified all require a similar scope of work,” the spokeswoman said.
“Their close proximity means that the work can be delivered more efficiently and the disruption to customers can be better managed.”
The Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the upgrade as Moss Vale – which sees just 420 commuters a day – was “designed to deliver wider precinct improvements by making it easier for less mobile customers to move between the station and the town centre”.
She said an upgrade at Unanderra station “will continue to be considered as part of the Transport Access Program’s ongoing prioritisation process”.