Commuters warned of grim future for Sydney train fleet

The NSW government has been warned that the state’s ageing fleet of passenger trains risks causing service disruptions and blowing out maintenance budgets as a drop in patronage due to the pandemic slashes fare revenue.

The warnings in two confidential reports by Transport for NSW and Sydney Trains come amid major delays to the delivery of new Spanish-built passenger trains and a prolonged industrial dispute that is set to escalate next week, threatening widespread disruptions to the rail network.

Almost a quarter of NSW’s passenger trains are more than 30 years old.Credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The report by Sydney Trains – marked “cabinet in confidence” – warns that “obsolescence and end-of-life issues” for Oscar, Millennium, XPT, Xplorer, Endeavour and K and V-set trains raise the risk of a “deterioration of fleet availability and reliability”, and escalating maintenance costs.

“Obsolescence is emerging as a significant issue across older fleet types,” the report states.

Almost a quarter of the state’s passenger trains are older than 30 years and 45 per cent more than two decades old. Trains such as the XPTs and Xplorers are set to stay in service for years longer than planned because of a contractual dispute over the design of new regional trains meant to replace them.

The Sydney Trains report shows that the amount of time spent on extensive maintenance – referred to as “touch time” – has “reduced considerably” over the past two years due to operational demands.

NSW’s ageing train fleet

Oscar and V-set trains run on intercity lines from Sydney to destinations such as Newcastle, the South Coast and the Blue Mountains.

Millennium and K-set trains operate on Sydney’s suburban lines such as the T2 Inner West.

XPT and Xplorer trains service regional destinations such as Dubbo as well as interstate lines.

Endeavour trains operate on lines in the Hunter, Southern Highlands, Illawarra and between Sydney and Bathurst.

And it warns of a risk of further delays to a troubled project aimed at keeping Tangara passenger trains operating for an extra decade, raising the possibility of “service delays and cancellations”.

A separate internal report by Transport for NSW forecasts the amount of rail track in greater Sydney deemed to be poor condition will surge to 17 per cent within the next decade, from 2 per cent at present, without a boost in government funding.

It foreshadows the likelihood of an increase in defects in Millennium and Oscar trains and a resulting risk of delays to services, while warning that the condition of overhead wiring on rail lines will deteriorate “with a significant proportion becoming poor or life expired in 10 years”.

The report – marked “sensitive” – warns of “emerging structural operating and revenue deficits” due to the cost of an expanding rail network and a drop in public transport patronage caused by the pandemic, which “may have an ongoing and long-term impact” on ticket fare revenue.

Decades-old trains are more expensive to maintain.Credit: Brook Mitchell

It cites an operating deficit for Sydney’s $3.1 billion CBD and eastern suburbs light rail because forecast savings from a planned reduction in bus services after the 12-kilometre line opened in late 2019 failed to eventuate because the changes were delayed.

Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said the government’s failure to invest properly in the existing rail network had left passengers with an ageing fleet which breaks down more often and needs extra maintenance.

“Labor in government will replace the Tangaras with new trains that are built here. We can’t have a reliable train network without modern and reliable trains,” she said.

Transport Minister David Elliott said the government was committed to local content for rail manufacturing and was delivering domestic goals across the state’s transport infrastructure projects, while Opposition Leader Chris Minns “tours manufacturing and maintenance sites pretending to look busy”.

“It has taken a Liberal government to rebuild the state after the failings of the previous Labor government,” he said. “Labor had a proven track record of failing to deliver locally manufactured trains for the rail network.”

Transport for NSW said in a statement that it monitors the condition of its assets to ensure service levels continue to meet customer performance expectations and to appropriately manage risks related to service reliability, asset resilience and safety.

“Asset and service plans provide information that assists the decision-making process for determining funding priorities and investment for the year ahead,” it said.

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