Union officials should have more input over maintenance and timetabling of Sydney Trains according to a review that found the rail network has become less punctual and more prone to major incidents despite passenger numbers languishing well below pre-pandemic levels.

The review, which probed a run of incidents that crippled the rail network in the lead up to the NSW election, declared that a timetable implemented in 2017 didn’t allow enough time or flexibility for repairs or for the network to bounce back after a major incident. This created a maintenance backlog which blew out when the state’s rail workers took industrial action over a period of almost two years from mid-2021.