Concern about lift reliability at Oldham tram stop

Mum-of-three Rebecca Stewart found herself caught out when both lifts at Freehold tram stop were out of service.

Others agreed with Rebecca on Facebook, adding that one of the two lifts didn’t work ‘every week at least’.

Rebecca said she regularly uses the ‘convenient’ tram stop when she’s on the way to pick up her three-year-old son Robbie from pre-school.

The 35-year-old added: “If I’m running late or the weather is bad. My little boy is three, he doesn’t like walking much, so we get the tram home.

“What would usually take me 15 minutes to walk would take me half an hour with my son, so it just cuts a lot of time.”

Left to right: Rebecca, eight-year-old Thomas, three-year-old Robbie, husband Paul, and baby Evelyn (Image: Rebecca Stewart)

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Before making the journey to pick up her son on Tuesday, Rebecca made sure to check the Metrolink website to see if there were any problems with the lifts – essential as she was pushing her two-month-old daughter Evelyn in a pram.

Seeing there were no issues on the website, Rebecca boarded the tram to avoid the worst of the January weather.

However, when she arrived at Freehold she soon realised she was stuck – with both lifts seemingly out of order.

She said: “There was nothing on the website at all, and when I got there it was chucking it down. I pressed the button and nothing happened. I crossed over the other side, and no – there were no lights on it, nothing.”

Rebecca was saved by workmen trimming vegetation on the line, who helped her carry her pram down the stairs.

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She added: “Luckily they helped me down, I’ve got one of them really big prams and a two-month-old child, there’s no way I could have got down the stairs on my own.

“If they weren’t there, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Rebecca wants to see Metrolink ensure that it publishes accurate and up-to-date information on lift availability.

She said: “I’d like them to do more regular checks and keep the website updated as well. It’s one of them situations where you look to see if it is working, and it is showing that it’s working, and you get there and it’s not, you’re a bit stuck.

“Especially if you’re disabled.

“I’ve just got a pram, so that’s obviously my choice, but some people who are in wheelchairs – it’s not a choice of theirs and they’ll end up stuck, have to go all the way around, maybe get a bus which is even more difficult if you’re in a wheelchair.”

Transport for Greater Manchester was contacted for comment.

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Oldham. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk or click to send me a message on WhatsApp or on Signal on 07517566383.