The long-awaited lifts at Wentworth Falls Railway Station will open on Monday, June 19.
The lifts will be powered by a temporary generator until Endeavour Energy is able to connect a permanent power supply.
NSW Upper House MP Shayne Mallard announced the development on June 13.
“As a resident of the Blue Mountains I know how much rail commuters are looking forward to the station upgrades including Wentworth Falls,” said the Liberal MP.
“To ensure that there are no further delays in making Wentworth Falls accessible to all customers, we will be installing a temporary generator and opening the new lifts to the public on June 19.
“In order to operate the new lifts, the power supply at Wentworth Falls Station must be upgraded. We have been working with Endeavour Energy on plans, however, we have needed to make some changes to the proposed designs which has delayed the start of work.”
Mr Mallard said the revisions were necessitated by the extremely complex and unique geology in the vicinity of the station.
“Whilst challenges had been planned for, and anticipated, unfortunately it was not possible to foresee the full extent of these issues until further investigations were completed earlier this year,” he said.
“We are pleased that these temporary arrangements will enable our customers to easily access the station while we continue to work towards a permanent solution with the service provider.”
Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle criticised the delays caused by the power connection complications as “absurd” in February.
“This is an absurd situation for the state government to drop us in,” she said at the time.
She welcomed the latest development.
“Since February, I have been working with NSW TrainLink and the Wentworth Falls Railway Action Committee, led by Barbara Bailey and Robert Deahm, to bring people together for the opening of these new lifts,” she said on June 14. “We are all delighted to see them operational.”
The new lifts were part of a promise by the Liberal government at the March 2011 election and signed off by the then Transport Minister, and now premier, Gladys Berejiklian in mid-2013.
Customers are already benefitting from new canopies to provide protection from the weather, new accessible toilets and waiting areas, improvements to the station forecourts with new bicycle storage facilities, a new Kiss and Ride on Station Street and an extension of the car park on Railway Parade.
