SYDNEY, March 2 (Xinhua) — Just weeks away from the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on the Gold Coast in Australia, the Queensland State Government has been handed a major blow on Friday, that could have vital implications for the event's transport network.
Australia's Human Rights Commission has refused to exempt eight new trains from the nation's disability discrimination laws due to defective faults.
Originally purchased from an Indian consortium called Qtectic back in 2014, the 4.5 billion Australian dollar (3.5 billion U.S. dollars) New Generation Rollingstock Trains have been plagued with controversy since they first arrived down under.
In total 75 locomotives were due to hit the tracks at the end of 2016, however so far just 13 have made it to Australian shores.
Riddled with problems, testing has uncovered faults with braking systems, air-conditioning, ventilation, sightlines for train drivers as well as major issues regarding access for passengers with disabilities.
Apart from design errors that make it impossible for wheelchair-bound travellers to use the bathroom facilities onboard, earlier in the week around 40 vision impaired passengers were invited to test the new train's rideability in Brisbane city.
But embarrassingly, in what was described as a "communication breakdown" by Queensland Rail's chief executive Nick Easy, the train never actually showed up, leaving the group stranded on the platform.
"The Disability Discrimination Act has made it unlawful for public transport providers to discriminate on the ground of disability since 1993," the commission ruled.
"It is not clear to the commission why the Queensland Government procured non-compliant trains in 2013, or why the rectification work did not occur between procurement in 2013 and entry into passenger service in 2017."
"The commission is not persuaded that the reasons advanced in favour of the exemption outweigh the discriminatory impact of the non-compliant trains on people with disability."
Despite the ruling however, the trains will likely remain in use and the concern from many legal experts is that because the rail network is in breach of the federal law, it could leave the State very exposed to serious legal action from commuters.
Disability advocate Geoff Trappett told local media "now that we've seen that Queensland Rail doesn't actually have a plan for removing these trains from service, the price figure this could end up being is really an endless bucket of money."
But in the face of current embarrassment, Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey assured Australians the train system would be working for the Commonwealth Games.
"This is a preliminary decision and there's still more process to come," he said.
"We've already announced we have 150 million Australian dollars (116 million U.S. dollars) committed to rectification work that work is going on now."
