Free train travel to continue after one in five services disrupted on Friday

Construction to convert south-west Sydney’s train line into a metro will start as scheduled on September 30 after the state government capitulated to a union demand to put staff on driverless trains.

The rail union is demanding a 32 per cent pay rise for train drivers over four years but has also made a series of other demands, including 50 cent fares for the public before it would allow timetabling changes for major sports events this weekend. The state government has met this demand by offering free train travel this weekend.

Minister for Transport Jo Haylen on Saturday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The union had previously called on the government to scrap the conversion of the 130-year-old Bankstown rail line to a driverless metro, describing it an attack on working people.

Negotiations broke down earlier this week when the union demanded the new metro be staffed. The state government has subsequently agreed to that demand.

“From the 30th of September those works will continue as planned,” Transport Minister Jo Haylen said on Saturday.

Patrons wanting to travel between Bankstown and Sydenham will be offered free replacement buses in exchange for many commuters experiencing a doubling of their journey time while the work is underway.

Asked to explain why a driverless train required staff, Haylen said staff had safety training and would help people get around and “build confidence”.

“We acknowledge the transport workers want to make sure there are the right number of staff present to help passengers but also to have that confidence around any situations that we may confront on our transport network,” she said.

The rail union’s industrial action yesterday caused disruption to about 700 – or 20 per cent of – services.

Weekend train services have been largely restored and will be free until the final service on Sunday.

However, the prospect of more industrial action looms as the government is yet to strike a deal on pay.

Haylen declined to say if the government had made a counteroffer to the 8 per cent pay rise demanded by the union.

“Over the course of the next month, we want to make sure that we are getting to an end state. We want to wrap this up as soon as possible,” Haylen said.

Nurses are set to go on a 24-hour strike on Tuesday, after rejecting a three per cent pay rise. They are demanding a 15 per cent pay rise in one year.

The last nurses strike led to the cancellation of more than 500 elective surgeries and dialysis and chemotherapy appointments.

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