Poor turnout on first real test for Sydney’s new $2.9 billion light rail

You’d have expected chaos as commuters hit Sydney’s new trams for the first time, but the reality couldn’t have been more different.

It was expected that Sydney’s newest light rail network would be bombarded with commuters this morning as it was put to its first real test — the dreaded Monday morning commute.

The $2.9 billion CBD and South East light rail opened to the public for the first time on Saturday — a day that was plagued with technical faults.

But people didn’t seem to mind too much, after all it was free to use and those who had been drinking all day at the races had probably lost all concept of time.

This morning marked an altogether different challenge for the new service as suited people with briefcases made their way to the new tram stations.

Upon arriving at the service’s starting/ending point in Randwick this morning, news.com.au noticed something bizarre about the new service — barely anyone was using it.

We arrived just before 8am which you would expect to be one of the busiest times of the day — given it takes up to 50 minutes to reach the harbour from there.

There were a number of “ask me anything” stewards in high-vis jackets smiling and waving at us when we arrived, but they were the only ones on the platform.

One tram departed as we arrived and it had — we estimate — around a dozen people on it, and, even after waiting a few minutes, the platform was virtually empty.

There was pretty much nobody on the platform, at rush hour.

The first tram we saw departing had around a dozen people on it.

The trams have a capacity to move up to 13,500 commuters per hour (6750 in each direction) during peak times and Labor had warned the trams would be opening at capacity.

They warned that commuters would be “standing like a bunch of sardines on the platform” when the trams started running — but it clearly wasn’t the case this morning.

We chatted to a few people who’d turned up, and they told us they knew the journey would take longer than the 35-minute bus journey they were used to, but they just wanted to try it out.

Running out of people to speak to, we jumped on board and the tram began jerking around the tracks and stopped at a couple of sparsely-populated stations at UNSW and Wansey Rd.

It began to pick up some speed as it cut through Moore Park, and some of those on board told us they were enjoying the ride.

One of them, Rachael from Randwick told us the tram seemed cleaner, less crowded and smoother than taking the buses, which had become a “nightmare” in recent years.

Others told me it they thought it was good that trams were taking traffic off the roads, but not everyone was impressed.

Linda Tinsley from the Blue Mountains was stood waiting at Central Station when we alighted in Surry Hills and she told us she’ll never use the service again.

“Saving even the smallest amount time is so important when you’re going to work on a morning like this,” she said.

Please that it took me less time to get to work with new light rail! #lightrail #sydneylightrail pic.twitter.com/zWkhJgAyMq

— Andy Pingo (@Andypingo) December 15, 2019

Shock, Horror! First trip to work on the light rail and it didn’t break down #sydneylightrail pic.twitter.com/RnznNOdNB0

— Lucy Rowles (@LucyRowles1) December 15, 2019

She usually changes trains at Central, but thought she’d give the light rail a go because it seemed like a nicer way to get to work.

However, she was disappointed to find she had wait over 10 minutes for the next tram — they’re supposed to be every four to eight minutes between Circular Quay and Central.

She said she’d come this far, so decided to wait for the tram, but conceded that she’d probably be late to work this morning.

“It’s good for the tourists I guess, but not for this,” she said.

There have also been a number of complaints that the service is too slow.

NSW Labor says Journey times from Randwick to Circular Quay at the weekend were 58 minutes on average, which is twice as long as the buses the light rail was meant to replace.

Labor Shadow Transport Minister Chris Minns said he wants the state government to provide a date when its original promise of a 34 minute journey time from Randwick to Circular Quay will be met.

“When $3 billion has been spent, which is double what was promised, for a significantly slower journey time, value has not been delivered for NSW taxpayers,” he said.

Surely the light rail is bound to speed up. I can’t believe they have built a tram that takes 55 minutes one way. However will it beat the current bus journey time? I would be furious if my bus service was cancelled for a longer, slower light rail service.

— Chris Minns (@MinnsChris) December 15, 2019

“People in the outer suburbs of Sydney and rural and regional NSW who will not benefit from the light rail have a right to be very angry.”

The service’s baptism of fire comes after an eventful weekend of tram action in Sydney.

By 3pm on Sunday some 115,000 people had ridden the tram service, with 80,000 on Saturday alone across 155 services between 10am and 1am.

However, the tram network’s inaugural weekend was not without hiccups, breaking down at Circular Quay just a few hours after opening.

The breakdown saw services out of action for some 40 minutes after a tram stopped at a bend in the track just before 2pm, blocking lines in both directions.

Brian Brennan, chief officer of light rail operations at Transdev, said the technical issue was caused by a power module, exacerbated by someone pushing the emergency handle and trying to exit the vehicle.

The module piece has been replaced and “we look forward to being back in service in the coming days,” Mr Brennan told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

Sunday was “largely very, very positive”, however there was a mechanical break failure fault on a tram at Surry Hills about 8.25am, which was fixed by a network technician and caused a “limited impact” of about 10 minutes, he said.

Passengers were also struggling to hear audio on board and driver announcements when the trams were fully packed, an issue which Mr Brennan said was being worked on with the expectation of being in a “much better space” in the next two weeks.

Airconditioning settings and filters will also be investigated with a solution possible within the same time frame.

The new light rail broke down just hours after it was officially opened to the public on Saturday, December 14. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

While Transport Minister Andrew Constance apologised to passengers for any inconvenience caused, he said it was a “super weekend” for the trams.

“I know there was one incident with a tram yesterday out of 155 services and we’re conscious of that,” Mr Constance told reporters in Sydney on Sunday. “But when you have 80,000 people get on the trams in one day, it is a super weekend for the trams, it’s opening, it’s the busiest weekend of the year for Christmas shoppers and I really do want to thank people for their patience.”

Opposition leader Jodi McKay says the “good will for stuff-ups” was gone after the construction of the network was plagued by delays and cost blowouts.

“There simply is no excuse for the incompetence of the Berejiklian government that we saw on day one,” she said on Sunday.

“The government must reassure the public that the light rail was ready to open yesterday, and guarantee that it will be safe and reliable.”

— with AAP

Have you caught the tram yet? Tell us what you thought about the service in the comments below

Originally published as Poor turnout on first real test for Sydney’s new $2.9 billion light rail