Rail, Tram and Bus Union threatened with federal court by Transport Minister David Elliott

The rail union’s plan to switch off Opal card readers at peak hour will land in the federal court, as the Transport Minister seeks damages for lost revenue.

The rail union’s plan to switch off Opal card readers at peak hour will land in the federal court, the transport minister has said.

The NSW Government will make the case the union they should pay for the “tens of millions” of dollars’ worth of revenue set to be lost when the union starts switches off readers indefinitely from 3pm to 7pm each day from Thursday.

Transport Minister David Elliott said he’d received legal advice “the action being taken by the (Rail, Tram and Bus Union) to flick the emergency button and turn off gates in a number of Sydney train stations is actually unprotected action”.

“So I‘ll be going to the federal court … to seek damages and to seek repayments from the RTBU for the loss of revenue,” he said.

Transport Minister David Elliott. Picture: John Grainger

The action is understood to only impact gated-train stations. Other stations without gates but with Opal tap-on points will be unaffected – meaning passengers could potentially get slugged with up to $17 in fares if they tap on at one point, and can’t tap off at the other.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said he did expect there’ll be impacts from passengers “not tapping on or tapping off and incurring a default there”, but said the department was “doing everything we can this week to look at opportunities to minimise that impact”.

RTBU NSW Secretary Alex Claassens, who resigned from his role on the NSW Labor executive over the weekend, said he didn’t anticipate the Opal card shutdown would impact passengers.

“The NSW Government has shown time and again that they’re more interested in using taxpayer dollars on legal fees than they are in reaching an agreement that guarantees the safety of commuters,” Mr Claassens said.

“Suggesting that pushing a button to turn an Opal machine off is unsafe is absurd and a bit rich from a government that is insisting on putting trains that risk people’s lives on our tracks.”

This Thursday, October 20, workers from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) will deactivate Opal card machines from 3pm until 7pm.

Commuters will enjoy four hours of free travel every weekday thanks to the action. Picture: Monique Harmer

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens. Picture: Nikki Short

The protected industrial action will occur every weekday at the same time indefinitely, giving commuters a four-hour free travel period during the typical working week.

In a statement from the rail union earlier this week, RTBU NSW Secretary Alex Claassens said the action was “designed to cause a headache for the government and management” while minimising disruption to commuters.

“Rail workers have been committed to providing commuters with free travel because frankly, they deserve it after everything the NSW Government has put them through. This protected industrial puts the pressure where is should be – on the NSW Government,” he said.

“If the NSW Government is insistent commuters shouldn’t be given free travel, then the Premier and his Ministers should simply sit down and finally reach an agreement with rail workers.

“Everybody is fed up with the ongoing rail dispute, but we’ve no choice but to continue to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to force the NSW Government to provide safe trains for commuters and fair wages and conditions for workers.”

Transport Minister David Elliott told 2GB radio host Jim Wilson that he would “continue to look into what legal options I have available” to prevent further industrial action from going ahead.

RTBU have announced a bold plan to switch off Opal card readers across Sydney on Thursday. NSW. Picture: Monique Harmer

He accused Mr Claassens, who stood down from an official role in the Labor Party on the weekend, for undertaking the action for the sake of a political motive and being “unfair” to union members who are not Labor voters.

“I know Alex (Claassens). I like him, I work well with him … However when he stands up and says he’s going to do anything possible to change the government, that says to me he’s not negotiating in good faith.”

Last month, a leaked memo seen by The Daily Telegraph revealed plans to switch off Opal card machines from September 21.

Busy Central Station during RTBU’s industrial action in August. Picture: Damian Shaw

In it, members were encouraged to turn off the readers being provided with several ways to deactivate them, however the proposed action did not come to fruition.

Concerns have since resurfaced that commuters using publicly operated Park & Ride facilities could be slapped with an extra $30 parking fee due to Opal cards being used to enter and exit the parking lots to avoid payment, under certain conditions.

At the time, RTBU secretary Alex Claassens said rules for the state-managed facilities were out of the union’s control.

“If the Park&Ride system is linked to the Opal card system, then the NSW Government needs to ensure people are not charged for their parking,” Mr Claassens said.

“Rail workers do not have any control over the parking system, however if it is actually linked to the Opal card system then the NSW Government has a responsibility to ensure all the fees are waived for people using those car parks.”

The latest RTBU announcement has dealt a new blow to the state government. Picture: Monique Harmer

Upon asking Transport for NSW how the issue is expected to be managed with the new action commencing on Thursday, The Daily Telegraph was told: “Sydney Trains and NSW Trainlink maintain that deactivating Opal gates presents a range of issues for the management and operations of the network.

“Any attempts to deliberately deactivate Opal gates could cause issues with the operation of the rail network including safety impacts for employees, and broader impacts including passenger management, Park & Ride carparks, data collection and the cost of lost revenue being borne by the broader community.”

Concerns have also been raised about passengers having to pay the default fare, which is charged for an ‘incomplete trip’ when commuters do not tap on and off, during the period when Opal card readers go dark.

The Daily Telegraph understands discussions about these issues are underway and more information will be made available before Thursday.