Epping to Chatswood rail closure: Businesses tell staff they can work from home during shutdown
THOUSANDS of workers are being told they can stay at home to work to avoid the commuter crush on roads and buses during the seven-month Epping to Chatswood rail closure from September 30.
North Shore
Don't miss out on the headlines from North Shore. Followed categories will be added to My News.
MAJOR businesses are ramping up their own contingency plans to help tens of thousands of workers cope with Epping to Chatswood rail shutdown from September 30.
Optus, which has 5500 staff at its Macquarie Park business centre, is encouraging staff to work remotely as it puts in place more flexible working hours, as well as an expansion of its ride-sharing program.
“Optus has developed a range of initiatives to ensure we can support our employees in continuing to get to and from work during the rail closure,” Optus national manager of experience and culture Andrew Parker said.
“We think it’s really important that our employees are able to balance their work and home life.
“That is why we’ve expanded our range of flexible work options to encourage more employees to work remotely or alter their start and finish times, enabling them to commute during off-peak periods.
“We’ve also expanded our ride-share program, which offers discounted parking for Optus employees who car pool with two or more people, and we’ve upgraded our campus cycling facilities to enable more people to cycle to work.”
Mr Parker said more than 65 per cent of staff had expressed an interest in taking up Optus’ flexible work options.
In North Ryde, a major construction company is dialling up similar plans to the telco to help 900 staff deal with the disruption.
Downer Group said it had been planning for months to help staff during the seven-month crush which will force 20,000 commuters onto buses and into cars.
“(We’ve) worked with employees and agencies to identify a range of travel and working options to ensure minimal inconvenience,” a Downer spokeswoman said.
“(There’ll be) flexible working arrangements, including working from home and from other Downer sites, and encouraging the use of Keolis Downer’s Keoride on-demand transport service.
“(We’re also) encouraging the use of Station Link buses and ride sharing, as well as instituting a new car park management system to allow more employees to use spaces available in the office building.”
With the major disruption less than a month away, Sydney Business Chamber executive director Patricia Forsythe is urging residents and workers to “reset the clock” during the rail closure.
“People need to rethink what they are doing during this closure to ease the burden for themselves,” Ms Forsythe said.
“Instead of starting work at 9am, people should be seeing if they can start at 10am and work a bit later. This is part of how we can reset the clock, as it were, and a way of getting cars off the road during the 8-9 morning peak hour.”
Other major businesses are confident the new Station Link bus service will help ease the burden on shoppers.
Westfield Chatswood and Chatswood Chase say they expect minimum disruptions during the shutdown.
The rail upgrade between Epping and Chatswood is the last major piece of construction before the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest line is up and running next year.
A new fleet of 120 distinctive pink Station Link buses will operate on seven routes between Epping and Chatswood from September 30.
During the busiest parts of the day there will be a service least every six minutes with a 110 services per hour.
To plan your trip, visit the online ‘Trip Planner’ at transportnsw.info.
BOON FOR TEMP OFFICE COMPANY
ONE company is taking advantage of the increased demand for temporary office space due to the looming rail closure.
Serviced Offices International (SOI), which has operated in the city for the past two decades, opened up a new office in Chatswood last month to cater for small to medium-sized businesses that will be inconvenienced by the shutdown.
“We’ve already got five clients confirmed and many other inquiries to fill the 20 private office suites for corporates or mid-tier companies who may need temporary space as a contingency for future issues because of the rail line closure,” SOI sales manager Eddie Reginato said.
“We had an inquiry last week from a business with a staff of about 20 in Epping, and it’s just dawned on them that half of their staff live in the Chatswood area. And with the closure, one of the options they want to look at is extra office space in Chatswood, which will help productivity and staff morale because they won’t have to put up with the congestion issues.
“This is where our business helps provide them with a temporary office space.”
Chatswood Chamber of Commerce president Stig Falster said he had received “very little” feedback from local businesses in relation to the rail shutdown from September 30.
“Our members are mostly small to medium-sized businesses and there are no major issues at this stage,” he said.
“What I say to members is that 12 years under (former Labor Premier) Bob Carr, nothing happened in our area. And now a little bit of inconvenience has to be felt with an important infrastructure upgrade. If you don’t have progress, you go backwards.”
WORKERS TAKE MATTERS INTO OWN HANDS
COMMUTERS are using the impending doom of the Epping-Chatswood rail closure to negotiate a rare privilege — working from home.
About 20,000 people who use the rail line each weekday will need alternative transport for seven months from September 30 when the line is upgraded for the Sydney Metro Northwest, which will see trains run to Rouse Hill.
Replacement buses called Station Link will be provided, but many workers are anticipated to drive and worsen traffic congestion.
Others don’t want to be around to find out.
Elyse Glenn works where the closure’s impacts will be felt most — among the 55,000 workers of Macquarie Park (Census 2016).
The communications manager commutes by train, and sometimes drives, from her Central Coast home to Schneider Electric’s offices most days.
Her employer has been discussing flexible and remote work arrangements since last year, and Ms Glenn will work from home up to three days during the rail closure.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.
“I commute a fair way so for me it’s going to allow me to have a bit more work life balance. I’ll be able to do pilates or swim early in the morning.”
She was unconvinced by the government’s advice to allow an additional 10 minutes travel time.
“I think the admission of Transport NSW is that it’s a minimum. I think it will be a bit more than that, if we’re honest,” she said.
Her colleague Nathan Padgham commutes by train from Thornleigh.
He works from home one day every two weeks, but will increase this to two to three days per week.
Also looking forward to the change in working life is events manager Mary Voorwinde, who works at Optus’ Macquarie Park headquarters.
The Central Coast woman has arranged to increase her work days at home from one to about three.
She will appreciate more time to transport her kids to and from school, and prepare dinner.
“Working from home will definitely help, particularly if you have to steer away from traffic congestion,” she said. “We’ve got the technology to work remotely.
“You do appreciate face-to-face contact, so you miss that a little bit, but you get a lot done (at home) and can still dial into meetings.”
SYDNEY BUSINESS CHAMBER COMMENT, by executive director Patricia Forsythe
IT IS not possible to ‘gild the lily’ when it comes to the potential impact of the closure of the rail line from Epping to Chatswood from September 30 for some months.
But rather than complaining, there is much the community can do to ease the impact.
Travel choices, a campaign initiated by Transport for NSW, reminds us all that business-as- usual is not sustainable.
Retiming to travel outside the peak and carpooling in key employment precincts are simple but effective steps especially in the high employment precinct of Macquarie Park.
Stand on Ryde Road today and watch the single occupant cars turn into Waterloo Rd to know that such an approach will not be sustainable. The nine-to-five working day is at the root of much of the existing congestion and requires both business and employees to reset the clock.
Leadership from local business is vital in determining what can work for them and their employees, be it a 7am-3pm day or 10am-6pm day, or a day-a-week working from home, or from another site must be part of the solution.
Scheduling meetings outside the peak is another small but symbolic acceptance of change.
Located in Macquarie Park are major companies each with hundreds of employees, and Macquarie University.
The University has announced a program of activities in the 5-7pm period to create opportunities for students and staff to avoid the peak.
Freight delivery which is road-dependent takes a big hit when roads are congested but freight companies working with business will need to be smart too in how they manage the supply chain during the months of line closure.
Road congestion is a major challenge to the notion of sustainable cities.
Macquarie Park has introduced its own ‘on-demand’ bus service for workers who reside in neighbouring suburbs.
The one upside of the line closure is that while its impact will be felt acutely by those who already use the train system, hopefully it will cause everyone to pause and consider their options. Be it the hours they work or shop, or their mode of transport, or even whether a day a week, working from home is an option.
Governments are expected to build the infrastructure but solving the transport challenge is a responsibility for each of us.
Hopefully out of the chaos will emerge wiser commuters able to contribute to a more sustainable future.