Metro closure to go ahead despite Sydney train shutdown from Friday

The NSW government has ruled out cancelling the planned closure of much of Sydney’s new driverless metro line for major maintenance this weekend despite facing a shutdown of the rest of the city’s rail network due to a major industrial dispute.

The decision came as Transport Minister Jo Haylen again called on the Rail Tram and Bus Union to drop critical work bans ahead of a meeting with union leaders on Wednesday afternoon.

If the escalating dispute cannot be resolved, a shutdown of the suburban rail network, which carries a million people a day, will begin in the early hours of Friday morning and last until early Sunday morning.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen again called on Wednesday for the union to drop key work bans.Credit: Kate Geraghty

While keeping the entire M1 metro open this weekend would provide some relief for commuters, Haylen said cancelling the essential maintenance planned for the line between Chatswood and Sydenham would come at a “significant cost to taxpayers”.

The government is keeping open the option of taking the dispute to the industrial umpire, although Haylen said she wanted to resolve the standoff by negotiation with the unions.

“The former government took that type of action, and it was a failed strategy. I don’t want to be taking action that actually drives the parties apart and prolongs this dispute. We are meeting this afternoon with union leadership to progress just that,” she said.

Crowds are often hectic after major events at Olympic Park. Pictured: Scenes after the Women’s World Cup semi-final.Credit: Brandon Nguyen

Premier Chris Minns also spoke to Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey and the head of the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) on Wednesday morning.

However, RTBU state secretary Toby Warnes said it was disappointing that the government seemed intent on pushing ahead with its plans to shut down the network.

“This is a shocking display of incompetence from the NSW government,” he said. “This weekend would have been the perfect time to run 24-hour public transport, but rather than deliver services for the people of NSW, the NSW government is attempting to shut everything down.”

At a last-minute meeting between the RTBU and Sydney Trains at 5.30pm on Tuesday, both parties failed to reach an agreement on the union’s demands to run a 24-hour train service and a 32 per cent pay rise over four years. The government has offered rail workers a wage increase of 9.5 per cent over three years, which the union has rejected.

Train services were originally meant to stop at 10pm on Thursday but will now cease about 4.15am on Friday. A negotiated outcome means the Pearl Jam concert at Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday night will be serviced by 86 special event trains.

The network shutdown – if it goes ahead – means soccer fans will have to make their own way to Moore Park on Friday and Saturday for four A-League games.

On Friday, Allianz Stadium will host the clash between Perth Glory and Western United before Newcastle Jets take on the Central Coast Mariners. On Saturday, the same venue hosts Brisbane Roar v Adelaide United before a local blockbuster rivalry between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.

While services in Sydney will run until Friday morning, ongoing industrial action is still impacting intercity services. On Thursday, there will be service reductions and some cancellations due to a culmination of industrial actions, Transport for NSW said.

Haylen said the pay rise demanded by the unions was “just not possible”.

“But meanwhile, these bans are not about industrial issues. They’re about 24-hour running [of the network] or 50 cent fares. Now, those are matters for the government.”

In negotiations with the government, the union has demanded trains operate 24 hours a day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday mornings. It has also enforced a restriction on the distance each crew member can travel each day, severely limiting the range of services that can operate.

In an early morning media statement marked “DRAFT”, Transport for NSW said it was committed to finding a resolution to the negotiations “this side of Christmas”.

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