NIMBY vs YIMBY war: Unions want to take Metro back to the horse and buggy days

While the parliamentary party has had a Damascene conversion to the Metro, the rail union is still stuck in the past. The idea of putting train drivers on driverless Metro trains is laughable

Sydney’s ageing heavy rail network has emerged as the latest front in this city’s NIMBY vs YIMBY war, with the union holding commuters hostage by trying to stand in the way of progress.

Tens of thousands of people flocking to the footy finals this weekend are now set for a travelling train wreck of industrial proportions, and the conversion of the T3 Bankstown to Sydenham line has been delayed costing taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union’s latest dispute with the government over pay and conditions descended into absurdity on Thursday, with Transport Minister Jo Haylen declaring that the union was demanding train drivers be installed on driverless Metro trains, seemingly to babysit the automated operation.

The RTBU wants to put drivers on driverless trains. Picture: Supplied by NSW Government

While RTBU Secretary Toby Warnes disputed that claim, it is no secret that the union is fighting to stop a new southwest Metro to Bankstown going ahead.

As Warnes told ABC Radio, the union has “numerous safety concerns” about converting the Sydenham to Bankstown line from heavy rail to a Metro service, helpfully noting that the existing line is 150 years old.

The union is using the conversion as a wedge to begin bargaining on a new pay deal, seeking a 32 per cent pay rise and a 35-hour working week. While the union is not on an all-out strike, yet, its industrial action which began on Wednesday will stop extra services which are typically put on for the footy finals.

Making matters worse, the Metro from Tallawong to Chatswood will also be down this weekend for planned track work.

Further, the union is threatening to hold commuters along an entire rail line hostage if they do not get what they want.

As Madeleine Bower reported this week, the RTBU is warning that if their demands are not met, members will refuse to work on the T3 line, halting trains entirely.

The stalemate is already costing taxpayers $3.6 million a day and is delaying the Southwest Metro conversion.

Work cannot begin converting the T3 line between Sydenham and Bankstown to a Metro service until the RTBU agrees to hand the line over.

SYDNEY AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos, 13th APRIL, 2023: Train passengers from Bankstown to Sydenham would be left stranded for up to 15 months while part of the heavy rail line is upgraded to Metro standards, in a proposal which could hit commuters from next year. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Simon Bullard

Despite days of negotiations, the chances of reaching a deal appeared slim on Thursday.

After years of opposition, the Labor government has finally come on board with supporting Sydney’s Metro lines. Premier Chris Minns cannot stop spruiking the benefits of the newest addition to the Metro network, which he finally opened in August after a last minute delay.

While the parliamentary party has had a Damascene conversion to the Metro, the rail union is still stuck in the past.

The idea that the government should put train drivers on driverless Metro trains is, frankly, laughable. The trains literally drive themselves.

So too is the union’s refusal to hand over the T3 line so old and slow heavy rail can be replaced by Metro services of the future.

There is a reason that the Sydney City Metro and Southwest won the “people’s choice” award in the Committee for Sydney’s annual awards night, supported by The Daily Telegraph.

Ironically, it appears RTBU members are quite fond of the Metro too - but only when it suits them.

Among the union’s log of claims against the government, it is demanding that members get free trips on “any new Sydney Metro” service “not yet operational”.

It is understandable that the union would be arguing for a better deal for its members.

But trying to stop the T3 conversion akin to clinging onto a horse-drawn carriage when the first motorcars were rolling off production lines - and forcing others to do the same.

Making life harder for families to watch the Swans, the NRL semi-finals, or the opening Bledisloe match is a great way to get the public off-side, as is forcing commuters on the T3 line onto replacement buses for the foreseeable future.

“Don’t let your opposition to the Metro stand in the way of families being able to get to the footy finals this weekend,” Haylen implored the union on Thursday.

“Don’t let the communities of South West Sydney be denied the Metro service that they have been promised,” she says.

The (driverless) train is about to leave the station; the union can either get on board or be left in the past.