Review of Sydney’s troubled railway to investigate failures after year of disruptions, delays

The new Labor government will commission a major independent review into the state of Sydney’s beleaguered railway after a year of disruptions, delays and an entire network shutdown.

Incoming Transport Minister Jo Haylen on Friday will announce the review, which will investigate the repeated infrastructure failures across the network and advise the government within months on how to implement “rapid and durable remedies”.

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen will announce a major independent review of the state’s railway system.Credit: Jessica Hromas

Sydney’s railway has been beset by problems for more than a year, with the entire network shutting down in February after a router integral to communications failed in the bowels of Central Station, affecting hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Trains were delayed again along Sydney’s T1 line on Thursday from a signalling failure, while services were also heavily disrupted on election night on Saturday, leaving thousands of commuters stranded at stations.

Haylen said an international city should be serviced by a competent transport network, and blamed the former Coalition government for neglecting the railway and ignoring its workers for more than a decade.

“After 12 years of neglect from the former Liberal government, passengers have faced shutdowns, cancellations and delays across the network and on-time running is the worst it has been since the pandemic; it’s clear that our heavy rail network is facing significant issues,” Haylen said.

Sydney’s commuters have suffered major disruptions to the rail network.Credit: Wolter Peeters

“It’s disappointing that the system isn’t delivering what Sydney as a global city needs and what passengers expect. Passengers have been left on platforms, and the people who run our transport system are frustrated because they haven’t been listened to.”

The review will be undertaken by former National Transport Commission chair Carolyn Walsh, who will be given until May 12 to produce a preliminary report. The government will determine the terms of reference in the coming days.

While Sydney’s existing railways continue to experience major disruptions, the new government will also have to contend with future metro projects that are months delayed and billions over budget.

The Southwest Sydney Metro is at least $6 billion over budget and a year late, with serious concerns within government over the section of line between Sydenham to Bankstown.

The Herald revealed on Monday that hundreds of rail workers had been temporarily redeployed from their main jobs because the transport department was preventing a raft of maintenance and project work on signalling and operational systems across the rail network.

Two weeks before Saturday’s state election, the transport agency made the order halting “any non-essential work on signalling, operational technology and control systems” until further notice.

The order was put in place two days after a critical digital system failed on March 8, forcing the shutdown.

Before the shutdown, the network experienced months of delays from wet weather and industrial action as the Coalition government fought the rail unions over pay and safety. Industrial disputes also prompted the former government to shut down the rail network in February 2021.

Labor campaigned on improving Sydney’s rail network before the election, and also promised an independent review into the city’s toll road system by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Allan Fels.

Labor also promised to table to parliament key details of the lucrative agreements between the state government and the private sector, as part of the party’s plan to reform tolling.

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