Families heading to the Royal Easter Show this year have been urged to ‘mind the gap’ when travelling on public transport.
Sydney Trains has installed rubber gap fillers on all platforms at Olympic Park Station, bridging the space between train doors and the platform.
The urgent safety update comes after the station recorded 15 falls in the past year, 13 of which occurred during the Easter Show and many of which involved children.
Up to 523 people fell onto train platforms across the Sydney Trains network last year.
Footage of one terrifying incident at Kirrawee Station in the city’s south has recently resurfaced.
In the CCTV vision, a child is seen falling through the gap between the train and platform, triggering frantic scenes.
The child’s family rush to pull them out, while nearby passengers scramble to alert train guards.
Sydney Trains boss Matt Longland said the new safety measures aim to give parents ‘peace of mind’ while travelling to the show this year.
A child is seen falling through the gap at Kirrawee station in Sydney’s south
Rubber gap fillers were first introduced at Circular Quay Station four years ago (pictured)
‘There has not been a single fall through the gap recorded on any platform where this solution has been rolled out,’ he added.
Last year, 400,000 people travelled to the Royal Easter Show by train over the 12-day period, with similar numbers expected this year.
Acting Transport Minister John Graham said the gap fillers are especially important for families.
‘Childhood memories of the Royal Easter Show should be all about show bags, rides and the best animals in show – not a frightening fall at the train station on the way,’ he said.
‘We saw the number of Easter Show-related falls at Olympic Park last year, and we have fast-tracked the installation of gap fillers so a trip to the Show is as stress-free as possible.
Rubber gap fillers were first introduced at Circular Quay Station four years ago.
More than half of all gap-related falls across the rail network occur at the busiest stations, often involving families heading to or from major events.
That’s why the rollout of gap fillers has followed incident data, with installations at Circular Quay, Town Hall, Martin Place, Wynyard, Bondi Junction, Redfern, Chatswood, Wolli Creek and Central.
The Royal Easter Show (pictured) opens on Friday, April 11 and runs until April 22nd
Rubber gaps are pictured being installed at Olympic Park Station
Since their installation at 26 priority platforms, not a single person has fallen through the gap.
Stations next in line for the safety upgrade include Epping, Lidcombe, Strathfield, Blacktown, Hurstville and Sydenham.
Sydenham station has previously made headlines after a four-year-old boy fell through the gap in 2019.
The Royal Easter Show opens on Friday, April 11 and runs until April 22nd.
