Sydney train chaos: More rail delays expected with 36 peak hour services cancelled
SYDNEY commuters can expect more train chaos this morning — even with a dramatic move by the government to put an extra 65 emergency buses on standby.
NSW
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FRUSTRATED commuters are set to face another day of railway chaos today, with 36 peak hour services cancelled across the city.
Staffing resources have been diverted from across the Sydney Trains network to ensure the smooth reopening of Australia’s “most complex” junction at Hornsby. It is understood “ongoing rostering issues” have also contributed to the staffing problem.
Transport bosses are braced for the latest dramas and The Daily Telegraph can reveal Transport Minister Andrew Constance has ordered a fleet of more than 65 emergency buses to be kept on standby at strategic locations today and tomorrow to swoop in as a “last resort”.
Extra communication staff are being deployed in a bid to improve on responses to any unforeseeable events, including weather.
Sydney Trains bosses were last night working to avoid a repeat of last week’s disaster, in which stations became so crowded they had to be blocked off and police were called in to supervise.
Mr Constance and Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins were yesterday both in Hornsby overseeing last-minute tests as staff prepared for the opening of the new junction.
The facility, used for both passenger and freight rail services, has been closed for two weeks for a $120 million upgrade that should result in faster turnaround times for trains at Hornsby and increased passenger capacity on the T1 North Shore Line.
READ MORE: The great rail fail: Anatomy of Sydney’s train meltdown
Mr Collins yesterday described the work as “open heart surgery” on one of the most “complex” junctions in Australia.
“This is a big Monday for us, we’ve got a major piece of new infrastructure coming on board,” he said.
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“We’ve got a contingency plan in place. Bus services will be running. We’re not underestimating this.
“It is a very complex activity and one of the largest ones we’ve done for many, many years. (We did) 17 days of straight engineering work, if we just did it on a weekend it would be three years’ worth of work.”
With extra staff being deployed to manage the new opening, there a fears it could put stress on the rest of the network.
Services will be cancelled on the T2 Inner West and Leppington line, the T3 Bankstown line, the T5 Cumberland line, and the T7 Olympic Park and T8 Airport and South lines.
Buses will be stationed near Wynyard, Town Hall, Clyde, Glenfield, Sutherland, Campbelltown, Blacktown and Emu Plains to deal with the morning and afternoon peaks.
“Sydney Trains operate about 2900 services a day and for the next couple of days we have additional contingency plans to counter any unexpected disruption to the network, given last Tuesday’s perfect storm for commuters,” Mr Constance said.
“Transport NSW has more than 65 buses on standby for Monday and Tuesday, should we see another wave of unexpected summer sickness or any other unexpected incident that affects the operations of trains.
“In particular, there are 30 free shuttle buses that will be available to respond, engines running to our busiest stations like Wynyard and Town Hall. We hope these buses are not called upon — but we are prepared.
“Unlike Labor, we will not be returning to the old timetable and cutting 1500 services. We are responding to an unanticipated 11 per cent surge in rail patronage over a 12-month period.”
A Sydney Trains spokesman said they had been forced to cancel some services due to staff availability but described the number as “small”.
“To minimise disruptions we have analysed load data and cancelled services that are typically the least busy, are outside of peak hours or have another train scheduled soon after it,” he said.
“Our priority is to provide customers with regular trains and to ensure there are no large gaps in service.”
Rail, Train and Bus Union NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the Hornsby reopening was “totally separate” to their looming industrial action and that their members were committed to do everything they could to ensure the network runs smoothly for commuters.
‘Divorce’ on the cards as drivers demand pay rise
RELATIONS between the train drivers’ union and the government have broken down so badly that talks between the two have been likened to a “divorce settlement”.
Transport workers have refused to back down on demands for a 6 per cent pay rise and the union said members are livid with Transport Minister Andrew Constance.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union delegates and Unions NSW will meet today to decide if they will strike after members last week backed industrial action over their enterprise agreement.
Mr Constance has also accused the union of using “lines fed to them by Luke Foley” after NSW secretary Alex Claassens said members were terrified of losing their jobs because of privatisation plans.
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Mr Claassens yesterday told The Daily Telegraph that while 6 per cent was a “starting point” for negotiations, he had no plans to back down from the figure as members were angry at Mr Constance blaming them for last week’s trains meltdown.
The union boss said that while members might have accepted a smaller pay rise 12 months ago, they had “lost trust” in the minister after he boasted that he looked forward to a time with “driverless trains”.
“Over the weekend I’ve had texts and emails with people saying six is what we want,” he said.
“When people are angry it’s like a divorce, they want the world. People have been working longer and harder with less resources.
“It’s not just the drivers but the cleaners, the guards and the customer service staff. Then they get blamed for problems in a new time table that are not their fault.”
Mr Constance told the Telegraph he had “zero, zilch, nada” plans for privatisation and the idea was being fed to the union by the Opposition Leader.
“That’s just serious union game play from Luke Foley and I challenge him to release his diary showing what conversations he has been having with the union the past fortnight,” Mr Constance said.
Mr Foley said the minister’s claims were “paranoid” and “complete nonsense”.
“Of course I have conversations from time to time with all unions and it’s about time the minister did, too, then maybe he wouldn’t be having the problems he’s having now,” Mr Foley said.
Mr Claassens said that there had been union concerns over privatisation “for a long time”.
“(Mr Constance) is about to announce privations of region six bus routes,” Mr Claassens said.
“I don’t need advice from anyone it’s on the public record. ”
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