Shocking number of near-misses on Sydney’s new light rail revealed

It hasn’t even opened yet, but there have already been hundreds of “hazardous events” between Sydneysiders and the city’s new trams.

A single stretch of Sydney’s new $3 billion light rail system has clocked up 250 “hazardous events” in just two months — from motorists not stopping at lights to pedestrian “violations”.

Internal reports by Spanish construction company Acciona, obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald, have revealed the statistics which show motorists entering the tramway corridor is the most common problem.

The “safety risk assessment” reports, released under freedom of information laws, only account for one stretch of the line – from Central Station to Randwick.

Trams will carry passengers for the first time on Saturday and it’s free to use on the opening weekend.

Motorists are being asked to look closely for changes on the roads and to take their time to adapt to new conditions.

Acciona reports show hundreds of near-misses during the light rail testing. Picture John Grainger

If you don’t, you could face hefty fines and demerit points.

If you don’t give way to pedestrians near a stopped tram, drive on a safety zone or overtake a tram that’s signalling left or right, you could be slapped with fines of up to $191 and cop two demerit points to boot.

You could be hit with an even heftier fine if you cause disruption to the light rail service.

These offences include driving into path of an approaching tram, blocking one off, or not giving way to one by driving through a dividing strip break — and they could see you cop a $344 fine and three demerit points.

There’s also a number of new speed limits on roads along the light rail route, starting this week. So the key message from the State Government is to remain alert to the changed traffic conditions around the city.

Pedestrians are also being asked to pay attention.

Police have also confirmed that officers, specifically targeting pedestrians at light rail intersections, have slapped 162 Sydneysiders so far with $76 fines for crossing the tracks in an unsafe way.

While you should always cross the road at designated crossings for safety reasons, you’re allowed to cross tram tracks at any point along the new light rail tracks.

However, there’s a catch. You have to be more than 20 metres from the nearest traffic signals and look up and remain aware of moving trams.

This does not apply to the pedestrian boulevard on George Street.

NSW Road Rules allow pedestrians to legally cross a road and not incur a jaywalking fine if they are more than 20 metres away from traffic signals.

During the light rail system’s testing, Transport for NSW says it has noticed a “high degree of people” distracted with their phones and unaware of trams approaching them from behind or in front of them.

In some instances, people are not even aware that trams are out and about.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance on Wednesday said some 200,000 kilometres of tram testing had already taken place, while the trams’ 100 drivers had each undertaken 190 hours of training.

Pedestrians are being asked to pay attention. Picture: John Grainger

Cyclists should also take care on the tracks. Picture: John Grainger

While he said city-goers were slowly improving their behaviour around trams, a minority of people were failing to get the message.

He reminded Sydneysiders that the trams, once in motion, require about 15 metres of space to come to a complete stop.

“The etiquette around mobile phone use continues to be a problem not only in relation to light rail but crossing the street, walking around congested areas in the city, people walking into each other,” Mr Constance told reporters. “Use your brain. There’s danger associated with light rail.

“People are completely like zombies as a result of earpieces, listening to music, texting … we need people to just really smarten up here.”

Services will run in both directions every six minutes for the opening weekend, with Mr Constance expecting a bedding-in period of at least three months before trams run every two minutes as promised.

NSW Minister for Transport Andrew Constance says pedestrians need to ‘smarten up’. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

The trams will begin accepting passengers from 11am on Saturday and regular services on the line will run from 5am to 1am each day.

“People need to be patient in that regard but ultimately, if you think about the benefits of light rail, it’s taking buses off what was a congested George Street and freeing up the city to be moving,” Mr Constance said.

The announcement follows revelations the final construction cost of the project has blown out to $2.9 billion – $1.3 billion more than originally forecast.

— with AAP