Commuters at one of Sydney’s most frequented train and metro hubs have found themselves navigating numerous flights of stairs due to a recurring issue with the station’s two lifts.

In response, Transport for NSW has introduced an innovative approach at Epping Station to alleviate the inconvenience.

Much like sherpas assisting climbers on Everest, designated baggage handlers are now helping passengers with their loads.

This measure is Sydney Trains’ temporary fix for elevators that have been out of service for weeks, causing frustration among residents.

“We have to tackle 35 steps up and then another 35 steps down,” a traveler remarked.

Lifts on both sides of busy Beecroft Road have been breaking down for years – 60 times in the past two years alone.

Even with help, negotiating the stairs can be precarious, and the struggle for many is all too plain to see – that’s something the baggage handlers can’t help with.

“My old man’s about 82 and he’s struggling. So we had to come here the other day and he had to walk up the stairs all on his own and he was doing it tough,” one local said.

Another said: “The baggage handlers only operate between 7am and 6pm on weekdays, 9am to 5pm on weekends, so outside of those hours, you’re pretty much on your own.”

Epping is a major transport hub with both heavy rail and metro, making it an essential stop for thousands each day.

So why are the lifts failing so often?

“We’ve heard vandalism, apparently, that’s not very obvious to me,” local MP Monica Tudehope said.

“It just looks like the government’s relying on very ongoing repairs rather than replacing the lift, which hasn’t been done since 2005.”

Transport for NSW said it was expediting repairs but with replacement parts coming from overseas, that’s unlikely until the end of January.