Category: Train Talk Tuesday

As you no doubt have noticed, it has been a shocking start to the year on Sydney’s railways, which many instances of delays lasting for multiple days. These delays were cause by a major incident on a single line somewhere on the network which snowballed into ongoing delays due to a lack of ability to recover from delays. This has lead Transport for NSW to write a report on how to reduce the amount of delays caused when incidents occur on the network.

Our rail network is very old, with most parts now approaching 100 years old and it’s stretched to its limit with many rail lines over capacity even when everything runs to plan. Unfortunately there is no quick fix to the problem of constant indefinite delays other than rebuilding our entire rail network, but this is too costly. The report has some ideas on band-aid solutions, but the network won’t be fixed until the Western Metro to Parramatta opens in the late 2020s at the earliest.

The report found that the network is too complex for it’s age, with many line criss-crossing at confusing junctions. Many parts of the network are running at full capacity even if trains are all on-time, so even just one late train can cause compounding hold-ups with no room for returning trains back to the normal schedule. There was also the suggestion that the communications and signalling systems were outdated and needed improvement to ensure that trains maintain on-time running.

The report also pointed out a shortage of drivers, which in some cases led to less staff being on-duty than the number of trains required in the network. This lack of drivers occurred multiple times in January. Concerningly, drivers were being made to work overtime 11 out of every 14 days and work 13 out of every 14 days.

The changes being made in light of the report include;

• Reviewing strategies for dealing with high impact network events in a complex, tangled network;
• Providing extra capacity for incident recovery by using post implementation reviews of the timetable to look for opportunities to adjust any non-peak services that are used by an extremely low number of customers;
• Accelerating recruitment of new drivers;
• Working with unions to help simplify changeovers for crew;
• Bringing in an independent rail expert to find ways to improve the systems and tools to put the right number of crew where we need them;
• Updating support and IT systems to ensure better communication and crowd management.

Due to planned legal industrial action being taken by the RBTU and Sydney Train Drivers, major disruptions are to be expected on the rail network from Thursday 25 January to Monday 29 January.

Please see below a list of all the planned disruptions by date.

Thursday 25 January 

• Most Sydney Trains and all Intercity services will operate to a Saturday or reduced timetable.
• NSW Regional Trains will operate as normal.

Friday 26 January 

• Most Sydney Trains and all Intercity services will run to a Sunday or reduced timetable.
• All T5 Cumberland Line and T6 Carlingford Line services will be CANCELLED
• Trains to Revesby will instead terminate at Kingsgrove. Macarthur services will make extra stops.
• Trains to Richmond will instead terminate at Blacktown. A limited shuttle will operate between Blacktown and Richmond
• NSW Regional Trains will operate as normal.

Saturday 27 January 

• Most Sydney Trains and all Intercity services will operate to a Saturday or reduced timetable.
• All T5 Cumberland Line and T6 Carlingford Line services will be CANCELLED
• NSW Regional Trains will operate as normal.

Sunday 28 January 

• Most Sydney Trains and all Intercity services will run to a Sunday or reduced timetable.
• All T5 Cumberland Line and T6 Carlingford Line services will be CANCELLED
• All NSW Regional Services are CANCELLED

Monday 29 January

• ALL Sydney Trains, Intercity and NSW Regional Services are CANCELLED. No passenger rail services will operate in NSW.

Please do be aware that further disruptions beyond those envisaged may be possible. Allow for significant extra travel time and plan alternative routes.

This is due to the actions of our state government and its Transport Minister, who refuse to agree on a fair wage and conditions for our train drivers. We should support our train drivers and condemn this current government for its heartless treatment. If a fair agreement can be made, much of this disruption will be averted.

Some schools (including SACS) have announced that they will not be opening on Monday 29 January if the strike goes ahead. Please check with individual school for more information.

 

 

 

Customers travelling to and from Western Sydney and the Inner West can look forward to a boost of more than 300 extra weekly train services and better connections when the new train timetable is introduced later this year.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance today announced key improvements to both the T1 Western Line and T2 Inner West Line.
“This is a massive win for Western Sydney,” Ms Berejiklian said. “We are making it more convenient for customers to travel between Western Sydney, the Inner West and Sydney’s CBD.”
“By simplifying and modernising parts of the network we are able to achieve far better services for customers.”
Key improvements to the Sydney Trains network include:

• More than 250 express trains every week between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD, including 20 express trains during peak hours.
• A new direct link between the Inner West and Parramatta on the T2 Line on weekdays for the first time.
• T2 Inner West customers travelling to and from Sydney’s CBD will see peak services boosted from 15 minutes up to every 6 minutes at many stations.

“We know that customers travelling longer distances want faster services and those closer in want to just turn up and go – we can achieve this,” Mr Constance said.
“These are the some of the busiest lines on the network. By simplifying the way the lines operate it will create additional capacity and reliability for customers.
“Today, we also unveil a refreshed network map so customers can begin to understand the changes ahead. They include the T2 Line extending to Parramatta and also to Leppington in the South-West. We’re also extending services on the T5 Line to Leppington and Richmond, along with re-badging the Airport Line to the T8 to distinguish this popular service for tourists and visitors,” Mr Constance said.
“With total rail trips to and from Western Sydney set to grow by 20 per cent by the early 2020s, it’s critical we get on with it and act now.”
Other key changes for T1 Western Line and T2 Inner West customers include:

• Harris Park, Granville, Clyde, Auburn, and Lidcombe will be served by T2 Inner West services during some periods of the day. Customers will have direct access to Parramatta as they do today, and receive a similar frequency of service to the Sydney CBD in the AM Peak, now via the T2 Inner West.
• Burwood will receive more services via the T2 Inner West, with direct access to Parramatta and,
• Late night services to and from the Sydney CBD to Penrith will be doubled on the T1 Western Line. To deliver this increase, some Richmond customers will need to change trains at Parramatta.

This is the next step in the ‘More Trains, More Services’ program – a capital investment of over $1.5 billion to provide an urgent uplift in customer service on Sydney’s rail network.