Major train delays cause traffic mayhem in Sydney

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott has fired up over train strikes that have ground Sydney’s transport network to a standstill.

Transport Minister David Elliot has blown up in frustration as Sydney commuters faced another day of major train delays as a result of failed union negotiations.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Alex Claassens told reporters on Thursday a strike would go ahead with 70 per cent of train services cut and an altered weekend timetable.

The union is also refusing to operate any foreign-made trains after repeated requests for the government to conduct safety repairs on the Korean-built New Intercity Fleet (NIF).

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott pledged $264m on Wednesday to fix the fleet despite believing that the trains were safe and did not require modification.

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott (right) has told the RTBU they have until Tuesday to respond to the government’s offer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

He said that the union was provided with a physical copy of the agreement on Wednesday night and on Thursday it was read through “line-by-line” by the RTBU.

The union has claimed they are yet to receive a written commitment or signed documents to fix the new fleet – only draft proposals.

Mr Elliot revealed that the government had initially offered railway workers $4000 bonuses to get the fleet on the track without modifications.

“If they want to walk away from that, well I’m quite happy to ask the Premier to allow me to march down to the Fair Work Commission and trigger a complete rewriting of the enterprise agreement,” Mr Elliott told a press conference on Friday.

“Enough is enough.”

Traffic backlog at Warringah Freeway around 9.20am on Friday. Picture: LiveTraffic

Mr Elliot said the RTBU want him to sign off on the fleet’s safety upgrade now before the enterprise agreement is negotiated.

“That is not fair on the taxpayers of NSW, the taxpayers want certainty,” Mr Elliott said.

Commuters have been warned to consider alternative travel on Friday or leave more time when catching trains due to the strike.

Roads banked up with traffic throughout the morning as motorists heeded warnings to avoid catching the train.

Traffic was slow on the Warringah Freeway heading southbound into the Harbour Tunnel as commuters made their way to work.

Congestion built up around 9am on the Eastern Distributor at Surry Hills and the City West Link Rd heading citybound.

Commuters are advised to avoid catching the train on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper,

More than two thirds of the cities‘ trains are out of service as a result of the industrial action creating overcrowding and gaps in services.

On Thursday, the volume of train travellers was down by 25 per cent and fell even further during the morning peak on Friday.

Delays of between forty five minutes and an hour are still expected for most services throughout the day.

“It‘s going to be a very messy day,” Mr Claassens said.

Any travellers headed to Sydney airport are urged not to take the train.

Earlier on Friday morning, Mr Elliot told 2GB radio station that the safety regulator had independently assessed the new fleet as “perfectly good”.

The NSW government is yet to give any written commitment that they will fix the new fleet. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper,

However, the union is concerned that the new fleet relies solely on monitoring by CCTV cameras mounted on the sides of the trains, which have no audio and restricted line of sight because of the design of the carriages.

“I‘m not sure where we go from here,” Mr Claassens said.

“Disappointingly, the government have decided ‘oh no it’s all contingent on everything else being done.”

Mr Elliot was scheduled to begin leave on Thursday and said he is willing to continue to work on negotiations while he is on holidays with his family.

The union has notified Transport NSW there will be further action next Wednesday and Friday.

The government has given them until Tuesday at 5pm to respond to their agreement.