Larissa de Groot (29) experiences these problems like no other. To get to her work, she has to transfer at Uitgeest station, but the elevator there has been broken for the past two months. While she needs it so badly, because she can’t walk or stand due to a connective tissue disorder and is therefore in a wheelchair.
On her ass down the stairs
In order to be able to work, she made the rigorous choice to go down the stairs on her ass every time for two months. She dragged her wheelchair behind her. “It was so irritating and exhausting, but I had no other choice,” explains De Groot. This video shows how Larissa came down the stairs.
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She is one of the many who has suffered from a broken elevator at an NS station in recent months. Because where it normally takes a maximum of a few days for a lift at an NS station or platform to work again, it now takes weeks to sometimes several months before the repair is carried out. A spokesperson for the NS explains this to RTL Nieuws.
‘Difficult to get materials’
The company says it can do little about it. The problem is said to be due to delivery problems of essential parts that cause ‘a lot of trouble’ for NS. “It is difficult to get these on time across the entire spectrum. You see this worldwide, many companies have shortages of raw materials and ships are stuck in China, which means that the delivery of products takes longer. We find it very annoying.”
Railway manager ProRail confirms the lift problems. “Where it used to be that we could just click on ‘order’ with a push of a button and it would arrive within one or two days, it now takes weeks and sometimes months for the part to arrive.”
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Worldwide shortages
Worldwide there are major shortages in the supply chains, and companies are noticing this every day. Many products, including elevators, are made with parts that have to come from everywhere. Especially in China, a lot of parts are made, which are then put together in factories elsewhere to make an end product.
Since corona, that whole system has come to a standstill. At first, everything went flat in China, causing major backlogs. After that, many countries entered a deep recession due to lockdowns, so that there was hardly any demand for goods at that time. When everything started running again at high speed, there was a shortage of almost everything.
Factories simply cannot produce fast enough and there is a shortage of cargo ships to transport everything. As a result, we not only have to wait longer here for repairs of elevators and for getting stuff, but products are also much more expensive.
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‘Limitation in your freedom’
The NS cannot say how many lifts are currently broken, but complaints are pouring in at organizations in the disabled sector. For example, Eline van der Meulen of the youth organization JongPit says that she currently receives ‘very often’ reports from the community that there are problems with lifts at various NS stations.
“Young people are extremely frustrated, because it is a limitation in their freedom,” says Van der Meulen. “For people who do not have a disability, a broken elevator may be something small. You just take the stairs. But if you do have a limitation, you are dependent on such a lift and if it is broken you can no longer independently to work or to friends.”
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Larissa de Groot didn’t let that happen. She decided to slide herself out of her wheelchair every time and – exhausting as it may be – go down the stairs on her ass. “For two months I went down and up again. And that’s pretty dirty I can tell you. Hundreds of people walk on those stairs every day, and I have to sit there with my pants in. For example, I once got stuck on a step with my pants, there turned out to be soda on the stairs. My wheelchair was also completely dirty afterwards, it was very gross.”
‘No elevator has a big impact’
De Groot made a video of her situation two weeks ago, mainly to show everyone how annoying a broken elevator can be. “It may be confronting to see, but I hope this gives everyone a sense of how big the impact is for people with disabilities if something like this is defective.”
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De Groot still gets a lot of reactions to the video, especially from others who also have to deal with broken lifts at stations. Such as Emma Verbakel (19) from Helmond, who is also in a wheelchair because of a connective tissue disorder. She recently wanted to take the elevator in Den Bosch to leave the station, but that was not possible. “Then you either have to go out through the back of the station and then take a detour for at least fifteen minutes, or with your wheelchair from the escalator. I already have some experience with that because of all the broken elevators, so I opted for that.”
‘Too ridiculous for words’
Verbakel herself calls it ‘too ridiculous for words’ that she had to learn the trick herself. “This shouldn’t be normal, but it is now. Fortunately I’m not that scared, but it’s still exciting to do. What if you fall?”
Verbakel’s mother doesn’t like it at all that her daughter goes down the escalator like that. “She always says, ‘You can’t do this when I’m there, I can’t stand that.’ She thinks it’s too scary, but I say to her: I can’t do anything else.”
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Organization HandicapNL recognizes the complaints of De Groot and Verbakel all too well, says a spokesperson. “It is a major problem that has received many complaints. For example, a boy recently told us that he had to get off the escalator in his wheelchair because the lift at Zwolle station was not working. These are worrisome signals. to allow a disability to lead as normal a life as possible, but it does not fit with such a life that you can’t just use public transport.”
‘Freedom of free travel is a right’
“It would therefore be more than nice if a solution could be found in the short term despite the delivery problems. The freedom to travel freely is very important and everyone has a right to it.”
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A spokesperson for the NS says that the company is in any case working to improve communication about broken elevators. For example, the company is working on a function in the travel app that allows you to see in advance at which station or platform the elevator is broken.
A spokesperson for ProRail says in a response that travelers with disabilities can always contact NS Travel Assistance. “A solution is always sought for them, so that they can reach their end station properly.”
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