Residents furious over bus replacement service snub for Pennant Hills commuters

COMMUTERS  are furious that Transport for NSW is not providing a bus replacement service directly from the Pennant Hills bus terminal – while the Epping to Chatswood Rail Tunnel is retrofitted for the Sydney Metro Tunnel.

Concerned residents at Pennant Hills Train Station. Picture: Adam Ward

COMMUTERS  are furious that Transport for NSW is not providing a bus replacement service directly from the Pennant Hills bus terminal – while the Epping to Chatswood Rail Tunnel is retrofitted for the Sydney Metro Tunnel.

In an announcement last week, Transport for NSW released plans for bus replacement services across the T1 Northern Line, which included a replacement service from Beecroft station, to compensate for the closure of the Epping to Chatswood Tunnel.

Pennant Hills Civic Trust member Noel Oxley said “up to now, the NSW Government and Transport for NSW have not once been clear or open about their plans for commuters from the Pennant Hills region, since announcing the Sydney Metro North West Rail Link”.

“We have not seen or heard anything from the government since the Advocate article earlier this year,” he said.

“They are forgetting that residents from our area not only commute to the city, but to the Macquarie Park Business Precinct as well.

Concerned residents at Pennant Hills Train Station. Picture: Adam Ward

“The government are expecting residents to catch a train from Pennant Hills to Epping and then spill into the onslaught of commuters trying to get a bus replacement service into the Macquarie Park region.”

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said “bus routes ... are based on customer demand and minimising the travel time impact to users of the service”.

“Beecroft was selected as it provides customers from the north with an alternative to Epping station, has existing infrastructure to support bus operations and minimises wider network impacts,” she said.

“Pennant Hills, Thornleigh, Normanhurst and Cheltenham customers will still be able to travel via train on the T1 Northern Line.”

Bus routes for the Epping to Chatswood line temporary closure

On April 5, the Advocate revealed commuters may have been forced to travel on up to three trains and double their travel time to the city due to modifications being made to the line.

However, the spokeswoman said “customers from stations between Normanhurst and Cheltenham will still be able to travel to the city without changing trains on the Northern Line via Strathfield” once the Epping to Chatswood line temporarily closes.

“Services will continue to be provided on the Northern Line to meet customer demand,” she said.