New Intercity Fleet: NSW TrainLink raise concern over lack of zero safety incident requirements
A NSW Government report has raised “major issues” with the fact that the new operator of a fleet of trains that will run across the network will have no requirement to target zero safety incidents. SEE WHERE THE TRAINS WILL RUN.
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The operator of the New Intercity Fleet of trains which will be rolled out across NSW will have no direct requirement to target zero safety incidents.
A NSW TrainLink report on RailConnect, published in August last year, states the operator of 55 new intercity trains — linking Newcastle, Mt Victoria, Lithgow, Gosford and Wollongong to Central Sydney — has no direct requirement or “commercial incentives” to target zero safety or environmental incidents as one of several “major issues”.
News around the lack of requirements for safety standards across the new fleet comes as NewsLocal revealed emergency alert buttons on the trains wouldn’t patch passengers through to the driver or guard.
“Reporting safety incidents to (the) Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator is a requirement set out in Transport for NSW Asset Management Plan requirements,” a NSW Trainlink spokesman said in the report.
“ONRSR reportable safety incidents will most likely impact RailConnect’s KPI’s on reliability and availability, but there is no direct requirement to target zero.”
The report suggested service provision penalties, which are enforced when the operator does not achieve reliability and availability targets, would “incentivise” RailConnect to meet safety targets.
“Similar to the safety objective, the project deed has no KPI for Rail Connect to meet (environmental) requirements,” the report also said. “The Environmental objective will be achieved through the cost adjustment on RailConnect through reliability and availability.”
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the deed for the new fleet was “an outcomes-based contract”.
“The deed includes a number of direct requirements and obligations in relation to safety and environment that RailConnect are required to meet in order to ensure that the trains are operated safely and adhere to the necessary environmental standards,” she said.
“Failure to meet safety and environmental standards will impact RailConnect’s ability to meet their requirements on train availability and reliability, which can result in financial abatements.”