Luke Foley calls for Andrew Constance to be sacked over Sydney train chaos
OPPOSITION Leader Luke Foley has called for NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance to be sacked over Sydney’s train chaos after commuters were hit by major delays today thanks to a cracked rail.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
OPPOSITION Leader Luke Foley has called for NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance to be sacked over Sydney’s train chaos, arguing the city’s railways are under resourced.
Commuters were hit by major delays during morning peak today because of a cracked rail in the underground lines between Town Hall and Wynyard.
Services were cancelled during the peak morning with knock-on delays hitting other lines, including the T2 Inner West and Leppington Line, T3 Bankstown, T8 Airport and South line.
Mr Foley said the morning’s chaos followed earlier problems on the weekend, as well as the week before.
MORE NEWS:
BONDI LOVERS’ BRAWL ENDS IN STABBING DEATH
ABBOTT: ‘I DON’T JUST WANT A TITLE WITHOUT A ROLE’
LIST OF COMPLAINTS BEHIND BARRETT’S SHOCK EXIT
“There are regular incidents,” he said.
“These incidents are happening way too regularly and the common feature is when something goes wrong, there’s a meltdown that lasts the entire day.
“That’s the pattern here since last November.
“Enough is enough, it’s time to appoint a new transport minister,” he said. “Here we are in the eighth year of this government and the train service has never been worse.
“This just rolls on and on and on.”
A new timetable introduced last year increased the number of services for Sydney commuters, but critics have argued it lacks flexibility to cope with incidents on the network.
Delays this morning resulted in trains running in one direction only on the City Circle from Central via Museum due to urgent repairs to the cracked metal rail.
Multiple passengers reported delays of up to 30 minutes, with many missing out on trips due to overcrowding on trains.
“No apologies from train personnel just (an) ‘as expected — delays’,” commuter Suzi Dougherty tweeted.
Sydney Trains was also forced to advise some commuters to “seek alternative transport” as commuters tried to get into the CBD for work.
The authority said the crack near Town Hall had been repaired by about 9am.
T8 Airport Line trains were terminating and starting their trips at Central.
Mr Foley said the timetable changes from late last year had been “disastrous” and need to be reviewed.
“It’s gone on for nine months now and there are other issues this morning of course. Mr Constance can’t fix these problems,” he said.
“Services haven’t been worse. I say to the premier you have to act.”
Earlier this month, a day of chaos on the rail network due to IT and other “technical issues” left Sydneysiders fuming and transport managers rushing to apologise and give assurances all was being fixed.
Delayed train arrivals and cancelled services led to packed trains and extended travel times for travellers, including those trying to get to major sports fixtures on Saturday evening.
The problem spilt over onto the roads with traffic congestion around many train stations causing even further delays for people trying to get places, including on buses put on by Sydney Trains.
Sydneysiders experienced similar chaos in December and January when a new timetable was partly blamed for widespread delays and cancellations on the rail network.