’Own up’: Rail union pushes for free fares on Sydney trains

Sydney’s train network faces more mass disruptions as the NSW Transport Minister raises the stakes in his fight against a union.

Sydney commuters could see more chaos on the city’s train lines as the state government and a union trade barbs over an industrial dispute.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has sought to pressure NSW authorities to offer free fares every Friday until June to make up for shutting down the entire network for a day last month.

Transport Minister David Elliott responded by saying he would “up the ante” and promise free rides on Fridays for a whole year if the union committed to holding off on strike action during that time.

Mr Elliott, who has been criticised for being asleep while Transport bureaucrats made the decision to shut down the network on February 21, said the Premier and Treasurer would back the move.

“The Premier had a discussion today, a discussion I’ve also had with the Treasurer; we can’t stop the economy and the cost to the economy of the behaviour that we’re seeing from the union movement today will be a lot more than just 52 fare-free Fridays,” he said.

Sydney’s rail network has been thrown into chaos for weeks, suffering from storm damage as well as fallout from the industrial dispute.

RTBU secretary Alex Claassens said earlier on Tuesday he would push for “free fare Fridays”.

Commuters across Sydney are set to face even more delays. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Crowded platforms are common these days. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

Mr Claassens urged Premier Dominic Perrottet and his government to “own up” for disrespecting thousands of workers and commuters.

“We’re now calling on the government to give everybody a fare-free day, every Friday, until June,” he said.

“If they don’t do that, we’re going to take industrial action that will force them to.

“We’re going to put on a range of measures, and as soon as the government announces a fare-free day on Friday, we’re going to withdraw that.”

Mr Claassens hopes the move will bring more people to Sydney’s CBD and believes the government is set to announce a similar measure.

Commuters across Sydney could benefit from free fares on trains every Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

He warned the planned industrial action could disrupt multiple services.

Commuters across Sydney were told on Monday to prepare for delays due to industrial action planned by the Electrical Trades Union, which stops any members from doing certain maintenance across the city’s train network.

The planned action could lead to parts of the network coming to a halt, with the impact growing the longer it is in place.

RTBU said it had decided to stand in solidarity with the ETU.

Cancellations and delays are still occurring across the network as a result of last week’s storm damage, with Transport for NSW assuring crews are working “around the clock” to assess issues and carry out repairs.

Commuters are being told to expect more delays and “gaps in service and cancellations” this week as a result of the damage.

A Sydney Trains spokesman said commuters were being told to plan their trips.

Sydney’s rail network has been thrown into chaos for weeks. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

“Customers should plan ahead by checking transport.info and the alert sections on live apps,” he said.

Peak-hour chaos was sparked on Monday afternoon after thousands of Sydneysiders were met with major train delays after the metro stopped moving.

Three services on the North West Line were stuck from 4.30pm to 6pm due to a “communication failure”.

“Sydney Metro deeply apologises to customers affected by disruption to Sydney Metro North West this evening,” it said in a statement.

“The delays were not acceptable and a full investigation into the causes of the incident will be undertaken with service operator Metro Trains Sydney.”

Urgent repairs were also required at Town Hall, with passengers on the Inner West Line, Bankstown Line and Airport and South Line facing massive delays.

The T1 (Western and North Shore Line) was also struck by an operational issue at Central, causing further delays.

Travellers on the Central Coast and Newcastle Line on Monday night also faced a 40-minute delay to their trains after a person stood on the tracks at Cardiff.

Trains are running at a reduced frequency between Hornsby and Central due to earlier severe weather conditions damaging equipment.

You will need to change at Central to travel to other City stations.

Please allow extra travel time and plan ahead. pic.twitter.com/sYmmwnXOnK

— T9 Sydney Trains (@T9SydneyTrains) March 14, 2022

Trains are not running due to recent severe weather damaging equipment between Schofields and Richmond.

You may need to change trains at Granville to complete your journey. Please allow plenty of extra travel time. pic.twitter.com/z8u6p9LOkQ

— T5 Sydney Trains (@T5SydneyTrains) March 14, 2022

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said ongoing industrial action could lead to the network “suffering”.

“There will be a point where equipment, such as substations, overhead wiring and track points, cannot continue to be used if those maintenance activities have not been performed,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“If the bans continue indefinitely, this could progressively result in safety issues on the rail network and growing portions of the network unable to be operated.”

Mr Longland says commuters should not face many disruptions this week.

The government claimed the February 21 shutdown was necessary because it would have been unsafe to operate the trains while industrial action by the union was ongoing.

The RTBU has denied that claim, saying the trains could have run safely.