Calls for Parramatta light rail speed at Cumberland Hospital to be lower than 30km/h

Nurses fearing for the safety of their vulnerable patients are pleading with the government to lower speed limits when the light rail travels through a mental health facility.

Nurses are urging the government to reduce the speed limit by half along the Parramatta light rail route when it makes its way through Cumberland Hospital and presents a safety risk to mental health patients — some who are suicidal.

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association’s Cumberland Hospital delegate Nick Howson said the union and Health Services’ Union have lobbied Parramatta Light Rail representatives to reduce the speed from 30km/h to at least 15km for a 100m section of the track that will run through the hospital when the service begins operating next year.

He said reducing the speed would add just 12 seconds to the journey but light rail staff did not heed the suggestion.

“To travel 100m at 30km/h is 12 seconds (longer) and for them to even seem like they’re refusing to halve the speed, what’s an extra 12 seconds safety time for the safety of people?’’ he said.

“It just seems utterly ridiculous to all of us that they can’t put in a lower speed limit for a brief period of time to remove any risk.’’

NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association’s Cumberland delegate Nick Howson fears for the safety of mental health patients when the light rail travels through Cumberland Hospital at 30km/h. Picture: John Appleyard

Mr Howson and his colleagues fear the speed would create injuries and possibly death for some vulnerable patients.

“We’ve also got a lot of people who are very absent-minded and I would actually argue that the absent-minded are more dangerous than the actively suicidal,’’ he said.

“You see people acting deliberately — it’s the unpredictable ones that you don’t know what’s going on.’’

During meetings with light rail staff, Mr Howson said nurses were advised that it would take 20m for a tram to halt if it was going 30km/h.

“Well how are you supposed to stop patients from (injuring themselves) when you’ve got 20m of warning?,’’ he said.

“It just seems absurd to me that they were unwilling to try and compromise.’’

Nick Howson and other staff are calling for the speed limit to be reduced by half to 15km/h. Picture: John Appleyard

He also criticised the government’s response after he said Cumberland Hospital would relocate to the nearby Westmead Health Precinct in 2028, “so any speed reduction they put in will only be temporary”.

“None of us really got their reluctance to budge on us,’’ he said.

“The State Government’s got no one to blame but themselves. They own the hospital, they own the rail.”

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said rail speeds through the Cumberland precinct were yet to be finalised and consultation was continuing.

“The safety of patients, and continued access to clinical and emergency services, remains paramount to the project,’’ the spokeswoman said.

“Since 2019, TfNSW and Great River City Light Rail (the light rail operator) have been analysing and assessing the unique characteristics of the Cumberland precinct.’’

Factors being considered include the level of traffic and pedestrian activity and a “thorough human factors analysis to understand the capacity and cognitive ability of patients, staff, visitors and the driver”.

“It is important to note that irrespective of the posted operational speed, drivers are trained to travel at speeds suited to sensitive environments such as the Cumberland precinct, while considering traffic and pedestrian activity,’’ the spokeswoman said.

Lifeline: 13 11 14.

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