Trains cancelled, hour-long delays as industrial action continues

Sydneysiders travelling by train to the airport and major events, including Carols in the Domain, on Saturday faced delays of up to an hour as rolling industrial action caused hundreds of services to be scrapped.

Delays were longest on the T1 line, which serves the north shore and parts of the inner west and western suburbs, a Transport for NSW spokesperson said on Saturday night.

“Currently the T1 line is experiencing the most significant delays with gaps of up to 60 minutes, the spokesperson said at 8.50pm.

“We apologise to our passengers for the disruption, and we want to thank everybody for their understanding as staff work to minimise the impact of industrial action.”

Escalating tensions between the Minns government and the state’s rail unions over wage negotiations have crippled train services at the start of the holiday period, casting doubt over New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The parties will return to the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday, where the state government will attempt to halt the action on economic harm or public safety grounds.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said businesses have also made applications to the Fair Work Commission, and she urged them to be heard as quickly as possible.

“Families need to be able to get on with their holidays,” she said. “Workers need to be able to get to work. And businesses need certainty.”

One of the businesses joining the Fair Work Commission application is Luna Park, with the venue saying it wanted to make sure its New Year’s Eve Party could go ahead.

“Luna Park Sydney [is] extremely concerned with the timing of the industrial action brought on by the RTBU,” the amusement park’s chief executive John Hughes said in a statement. “We remain hopeful that the situation will be resolved soon so people can go into Christmas with certainty about their arrangements for New Year’s Eve.”

“We fully respect the rights of workers and unions to ensure fair standards but believe that the timing of this action and potential impact to Sydneysiders and visitors to the city to be shortsighted.”

On Saturday, Haylen said nearly 40 per cent of train services were cancelled or delayed by midday, a pattern that continued throughout the day.

“Today, there will be 360-plus services cancelled, and that means passengers having to wait in some parts of our network up to an hour for a service that they need,” she said.

Between 10am and 1pm on Saturday, six of 12 city-bound T9 trains from Hornsby were cancelled, a pattern that continued throughout the afternoon. By Saturday afternoon, trains were leaving Richmond on the T5 Cumberland Line every hour or 90 minutes.

Other lines were less impacted. Trains ran behind schedule but with minimal cancellations from Bondi Junction, although the Illawarra end of the T4 Line operated as a bus service between Cronulla and Sutherland due to planned track work. Services ceased between Kiama and Bomaderry due to industrial action.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland urged people to avoid non-essential travel, allow extra travel time, and consider taking a bus, tram or metro instead, as it would be difficult to guarantee arrival times on the train network.

Passengers heading to major events face lengthy delays, service gaps and last-minute cancellations. Credit: Edwina Pickles

“It’s one of the busiest days at Sydney Airport today,” he said on Saturday. “We’re doing everything we can to prioritise airport services on the T8 [Airport] line … Travel early, or think about another mode of travel to get you to the airport for essential flights.”

The delays also presented problems for Sydneysiders heading to a host of events on Saturday, including Carols in the Domain, Randwick races, and Big Bash cricket at Sydney Olympic Park.

The disruption follows the Federal Court’s decision to throw out an interim injunction blocking the unions’ industrial action, including work stoppages, amid long-running pay negotiations.

Haylen urged the rail unions to drop their “intolerable” industrial action over Christmas and New Year’s Eve, arguing it was having “a very significant impact on people and businesses”.

“We cannot have ongoing industrial action at this time of year. This is a critical time of year when families need to get to see each other, to get on their way to holidays, and to be able to celebrate together safely.”

On Friday, the state government unsuccessfully sought for the Fair Work Commission to suspend the action due to significant harm to hoteliers and other businesses.

That case will now be heard on Christmas Eve, along with the government’s separate application for the action to be terminated or suspended on economic harm or public safety grounds.

In a statement on Saturday, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW said members’ rights to take protected industrial action had been affirmed by the Federal Court’s decision.

It said the industrial action “does not include, and never has, cancelling trains on New Year’s Eve, as safety for both commuters and public transport workers is always our number one priority”.

“Sydney Trains and NSW Trains were provided with ample notice periods for all industrial action to allow for them to make alternative arrangements, yet it is clear by today’s delays and cancellations that those arrangements have not been made.”

The union said track work was also disrupting services over the weekend.

The government warned in its filings to the commission that major train delays on New Year’s Eve caused by industrial action risked causing deadly crowd crushes and antisocial behaviour among large numbers of revellers frustrated by disrupted services.

Police Commission Karen Webb warned on Friday she might recommend Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks be cancelled if industrial action continues and the 250,000 people expected to visit the city were unable to get home safely.

“I haven’t ruled out that I will recommend to [the] government that we cancel the fireworks; it’s that serious,” she said.

RTBU NSW Secretary Toby Warnes says industrial action won’t cause a safety risk on New Year’s Eve.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Responding to Webb’s comments on Friday, RTBU state secretary Toby Warnes accused the government of “resorting to hysteria” and having public servants “come out and tell fibs about the effect” of industrial action.

Peak body Business NSW estimated cancelling the fireworks would cost the economy $98 million.

City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she would request an urgent meeting with the premier if police formally recommend cancelling fireworks.

“Our priority is maintaining public safety, and we will follow direction from police,” she said.

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