Sydney Metro plagued by 32 incidents in 81 days of operation
The Sydney Metro has been open for just 81 days yet the $7.3 billion driverless train system has already experienced 32 incidents — which equates to one issue every two-and-a-half days. SEE THE FULL LIST OF INCIDENTS
The Sydney Metro has been open for just 81 days yet the $7.3 billion driverless train system has already experienced 32 incidents — which equates to one issue every two and a half days.
Common problems include fire alarms triggering station evacuations, technical issues with doors, signal problems, train mechanical faults and lift outages.
A rail insider said conservative safety protocols were causing delays on the 36km railway line. One example includes train doors needing to be manually reset by staff if they are held open three times in a row by a passenger.
Sydney Metro operator Metro Trains Sydney confirmed this to The Daily Telegraph.
“Both the platform screen doors and the train doors are programmed to open and close three times if an obstruction is detected,” a MTS spokeswoman said.
“After the third cycle, the doors will remain open and need to be re-set by a Sydney Metro staff member.”
MORE METRO NEWS
WILL THERE BE WI-FI? SYDNEY METRO QUESTIONS ANSWERED
INSIDE THE ‘FLOATING’ SYDNEY METRO TRAIN STATIONS
This morning, trains along the railway line from Tallawong to Chatswood were running at a reduced schedule.
Transport minister Andrew Constance said the cause of the issue was being investigated by MTS.
“One observation I’d make about the Metro is it’s now carried the population of Sydney in the short time it’s been running,” he said.
“It’s an excellent system because it recovers incredibly well (when there is an incident).
“There is no systemic issue but there are incidents occurring which do cause disruptions … we are now seeing the numbers almost pushing 80,000 passengers a day…we will learn from each of these incidents which are unrelated.”
According to Sydney Metro’s Twitter page, there have been 32 incidents since the railway line opened on May 26. The Metro has also been closed for two weekends for trackwork.
Opposition transport spokesman Chris Minns said these problems proved the Metro was in “utter chaos”.
“This is Sydney’s newest piece of transport infrastructure and it’s most unreliable,” he said.
“It’s clear that these are not just teething problems, these are fundamental problems with the roll out of this piece of infrastructure.”
Mr Minns said nine bus services along the Sydney Metro route had been cancelled by the government shortly after the railway line began operating — which has created problems for commuters whenever there are delays.
“Those bus services that were cancelled by (transport minister) Andrew Constance (should be) returned to the people of northwest Sydney,” he said.
A rail insider said while the Metro infrastructure itself was fine and operating successfully, the safety protocols and standard operating procedures still needed to be ironed out.
“There’s a steep learning curve, particularly around the operational procedures,” the rail insider said.
“They need to approach everything very conservatively and err on the side of caution.
“Response times will eventually shrink once the operator has a full understanding of the severity of every incident, so for example, today’s issue would be much faster to fix next year once they have everything ironed out.”
Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Alex Claassens said the Metro had been “plagued” with incidents since it opened in May.
“We’re lucky we haven’t seen any major safety incidents as yet, but unfortunately the signs are very worrying,” he said.
“Commuters are being forced onto replacement buses, forced to endure long delays and left stranded in between stations. That’s simply not good enough on what is supposed to be a world-class system.
“Transport for NSW has overseen the axing of bus and other services, presumably in an attempt to drive people onto a privatised Metro service that breaks down every week or so.”
SYDNEY METRO INCIDENTS
May 26: There’s a 15-20 min service gap on the metro network due to a technical problem with doors on one train. Further information will be provided shortly.
May 27: Lifts and escalators are not operating at Castle Hill. You are still able to walk up & down escalators to access platforms. Accessible buses will run a loop between Castle Hill and Hills Showground, as well as Castle Hill and Cherrybrook
May 29: Metro services are running at a reduced frequency between Epping and Tallawong due to an earlier train with mechanical issues between Cherrybrook and Epping. Allow extra travel time. Some electronic display boards at stations are not currently displaying information. Services are returning to normal frequency, please listen to announcements
May 31: Metro services are running at a reduced frequency due to an earlier power failure btwn Rouse Hill & Hills Showground. Buses may supplement some services btwn Tallawong & Castle Hill. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements & check information displays for service updates. Metro services are not stopping at Macquarie Park station, which has been evacuated due to a fire alarm being activated. Buses have been requested to run btwn Macquarie Uni, Macquarie Park and North Ryde. Listen to announcements and check information displays.
June 1: Metro services are not stopping at Hills Showground due to the fire alarm being activated. Buses are running btwn Castle Hill, Hills Showground and Norwest. Listen to announcements and check information displays
June 2: Metro services are running around every 15 mins due to an issue with train doors at Tallawong. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
June 3: Metro trains are now stopping at North Ryde. Trains weren’t stopping at North Ryde for a short period of time due to an earlier fire alarm.
June 7: A shuttle Metro service is running btwn Chatswood and Kellyville, and Kellyville and Tallawong, due to a technical issue with a train at Kellyville. Customers need to change at Kellyville to complete their trip. Allow extra time, check info displays and listen to announcements.
June 15: Buses are replacing Metro train services between Tallawong and Chatswood due to an operational issue at Chatswood Metro Station. Catch a T9 Northern line train between the City and Epping. Passengers are advised to listen to announcements and check indicator displays.
June 18: Services that usually arrive on platform 2 at Chatswood are arriving and departing from platform 3 instead due to urgent track equipment repairs. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
Metro services are not stopping at Cherrybrook due to a fire alarm being activated. Buses are running between Epping and Castle Hill. Allow extra travel time and check information displays for service updates.
June 22 and June 23: Today & tomorrow, Metro services are not running due to planned maintenance.
June 25: Metro services continue to run, but are not stopping at North Ryde due to a fire alarm activating at the station. Allow extra time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
June 27: Check information displays and listen to announcements as trains may depart from different platforms at Bella Vista, Norwest, Hills Showground and Castle Hill due to urgent track equipment repairs at Castle Hill.
July 2: Metro services are stopped between Chatswood and Tallawong due to a train requiring urgent mechanical repairs at Macquarie University. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays
July 10: Metro services are not running between Castle Hill and Chatswood due to urgent track equipment repairs at Castle Hill. Replacement buses are being organised but are not on site. Delay your trip, consider alternative options or allow plenty of extra travel time.
July 12: The lift is out of order at Macquarie Park Metro station between the concourse and the platform. Maintenance crews are on the way.
July 16: Metro services are running at a reduced frequency due to an issue with platforms doors at Rouse Hill earlier. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for updates.
July 17: Metro services are running at a reduced frequency towards Chatswood due to a train requiring mechanical repairs at Hills Showground. Listen to announcements and check indicator boards for latest updates.
July 25: Metro services towards the city are running at a reduced frequency due to a train requiring mechanical repairs at Rouse Hill. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for updates.
July 29: Services are running at a reduced frequency due to an earlier mechanical issue with a train at Epping. Please allow extra time, listen to announcements and check information displays. Services are not running in both directions between Chatswood and Tallawong due to a communications system issue. Replacement buses are being organised but are not yet on site. Delay your trip, consider alternative travel options or allow plenty of extra time.
August 1: Services are not running btwn Tallawong & Kellyville due to a door issue at Tallawong. Replacement buses are being organised but are not yet on site. Services continue to run between Kellyville & Chatswood. Listen to announcements, check information displays for service updates
August 3 and 4: Due to planned maintenance on the Metro North West Line, buses replace Metro services today & tomorrow.
August 5: The lift at Macquarie Park between the concourse and platform is out of order. Maintenance crew is on the way.
August 6: The lift at North Ryde between the concourse and street is out of order. Maintenance crew is on the way. Services are running at a reduced frequency due to a train requiring mechanical repairs at Kellyville earlier. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
Services are not running btwn Tallawong & Castle Hill due to a train requiring mechanical repairs at Bella Vista. Replacement buses are being organised but are not yet on site. Services continue to run between Castle Hill & Chatswood but at a reduced frequency. Allow extra time. Services are running at a reduced frequency due to a train requiring mechanical repairs at Macquarie University. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
August 11: Metro services are running at a reduced frequency due to a train requiring mechanical repairs at Epping. Allow extra travel time and check information displays for updates.
August 13: Services are not running in both directions between Chatswood and Tallawong due to a technical issue at Tallawong. Replacement buses are operating a limited service. Delay your trip, consider alternative travel options or allow plenty of extra time.
August 14: Services are running at a reduced frequency. Allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.
Threat left at Jewish bakery owned by celebrity chef
A Jewish bakery owned by TV chef Ed Halmagyi has been attacked with terrorism graffiti and a threatening note left under the door.
Exemptions for 11,000 students as HSC set to begin
70,000 students are set to begin their HSC exams, with an expected 11,000 of those to be given some kind of exemption by education authorities. Here’s why the number has increased in the last five years.