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A RAIL service from Horsham to Ballarat could make a Horsham family’s unavoidable trips more comfortable.
Horsham’s Courtney Rolins travels to Melbourne for her son Seth’s specialist appointments.
Seth was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 2016. His appointments are monthly, but Mrs Rolins said they would become more frequent.
“We are stuck in an unfortunate situation and his deteriorating condition means he will end up in a wheelchair,” she said.
Mrs Rolins and Seth rely on public transport to access these appointments. They take a bus from Horsham and then a train from Ararat. However, she said the bus was not friendly to people with her son’s condition.
“When we catch the bus to Ararat he has to walk up the stairs and steps are a lot harder for him,” she said. ”It is a deteriorating condition and its going to get harder for him.
“And some of the times we don’t find anything wheelchair friendly.”
Mrs Rolins often stays overnight in Melbourne, however, she said the added expense was not ideal.
“Most of the time we have to stay overnight because the appointments are so early and it just makes it easier,” she said. “But there are times were appointments aren’t until the afternoon so we are leaving in the early hours of the morning to accommodate for that time.”
Mrs Rolins said her focus was on “improving the quality of life” for her son and make it as easy as possible. She said a direct train service would make it a more comfortable journey to access specialist appointments.