Transport delays result of poor timetabling; Commuters urged to respect workers

Media release, 12 December 2017

The significant delays experienced across Sydney’s transport network over the past 24hrs are the result of the NSW Government’s poorly devised new timetable which does not have any recovery time built into it, workers say.

Train services across Sydney have experienced significant delays, and even cancelled services, since Monday morning. A tragic incident near Wentworthville prompted the initial delays, however even peak hour services over eight hours later were still severely impacted.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW Secretary, Alex Claassens said that the union has been saying significant delays following incidents would be inevitable since the timetable was first introduced.

“Unfortunately it was only a matter of time until the cracks in this new timetable started to appear,” Mr Claassens said.

“The NSW Government has failed to build any recovery time into its new transport timetable, which means that when incidents occur, the delays can last many hours and impact the whole system.

“Whereas with previous timetables an incident on the network could be fixed within a few hours, the lack of recovery time in the new timetable means that the delays can go the whole day and impact the whole system.

“This shows a complete lack of foresight. Workers weren’t consulted on the new timetable, and this is the result – a timetable that might look fine on paper, but doesn’t function in reality.

“This is just another bungle the Transport Minister, Andrew Constance, has overseen. He continues to take reckless shortcuts that are severely impacting our commuters and workers.”

Commuters urged to show respect for workers

“Workers often bear the brunt of passenger frustration, but it’s important to remember workers are just trying to do their job and are feeling the pressures too.

“The drivers and other workers you’ll see on the ground aren’t responsible for timetables or delays – in fact, we weren’t consulted about the timetable changes at all. If we were, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation.

“We’d like to thank everyone for showing patience and respect for workers during difficult periods. Workers are doing everything they can to get commuters where they need to be as quickly and safely as possible.”