NSW Railway Observations - January to June 2018

[Fleet Lists]

And then they would be blamed for not doing anything - a no win situation as far as that is concerned. That does not mean that I am supporting Constance on this issue.

[tonyp]

Yeah but at the same time, hes been making a complete foolery of himself for recent decisions, events etc etc and has probably dragged down public opinion of the NSW Libs along the way. Reading SMH articles, comments on whats going now sure seems to suggest this because as someone above said, you actually have the commenting public on the side of the drivers here. Not the Government.

And should the Libs retain government next year, as a result, I have a strong feeling Constance faces demotion and wouldn't be Minister for Transport anymore in the would-be new term of Government, and perhaps replace him with someone more moderate that doesn't have an ideological obsession with privatisation, automation, and technology. Le Skinner suffered the same fate when Gladys took over after being plagued by enough scandals in Health.

If you want to get the drift of public opinion, look at the feedback across the Newscorp outlets which have vastly greater readership than SMH.

And it's La Skinner, not Le Skinner Le Constance will no doubt be heading the same way soon.

[Frosty]

And then they would be blamed for not doing anything - a no win situation as far as that is concerned. That does not mean that I am supporting Constance on this issue.

I think my personal opinion the unions want to get the government involved since they gain more attention & make it look like its the governments fault. Howard Collins understands this strike business coming from London Underground with its thuggish unions and numerous industrial actions.

[Tonymercury]

In response to ABC News asking him about a driver fatigued from overtime he said: "we've got more train drivers starting up next month so to that train driver if you don't want to work well we've got people about to arrive who can fulfil your duty."

In fact he appeared to be trying to make a joke of that issue, something that is capable of backfiring in a really dramatic way.

[boronia]

Constance is probably only reciting what the "media advisers" have rehearsed him to say. He seems incapable of making ad-lib responses to questions.

[Jurassic_Joke]

And it's La Skinner, not Le Skinner Le Constance will no doubt be heading the same way soon.

Mmmmhmm.

The Gladys B is apparently "furious" at her Minister. This just highlights the division, squabble and instability in the Liberal Party that we are used to seeing at the Federal Level.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/ ... ial-9NewsS

(ill just quote the one bit)

9NEWS understands Ms Berejiklian was furious with how her transport minister has handled the Sydney Trains fiasco when she was on holidays.

But thats okay, keep fighting, its funny to watch soap operas! But its your fault too, Gladys. You had the opportunity to sack him a year ago, but decided not to.

[tonyp]

It's to the Premier's credit that she continues to catch the bus to work. How many political leaders do that when in the highest office? Too scared of being harassed by the public I imagine.

Constance has to go, that's for sure but he's not wrong about everything. This is inevitable and the rail system will ultimately be better for it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_a ... ay_systems

[Stonesourscotty]

Some of the Millenniums appear to have louder audio announcements on them has there been some modifications done? M24 seems extremely loud.

[ScaniaGrenda]

Train Derailment at Telarah this afternoon. Not a lot of details as of yet but a Freight train derailed near Telarah station between 3:50 PM and 4:10 PM this afternoon.

https://transportnsw.info/alerts/details#/6015300

https://twitter.com/TrainLinkNorth/stat ... 2811274241

[Mercedes3035]

Train Derailment at Telarah this afternoon. Not a lot of details as of yet but a Freight train derailed near Telarah station between 3:50 PM and 4:10 PM this afternoon.

4MB4 to be exact.

[andy_centralcoast]

I noticed the Sydney Business Chamber is saying no trains running for 1 day could cost the Sydney economy $100 million. That would mean Sydney's rail network is worth more than $26 billion a year to the economy, making it exceptional value for money on it's annual operating costs of around $4 billion.

Ten News is also reporting the government is looking to source around 750 additional buses to cover Monday's strike if it goes ahead, but that will barely cover 10% of the train network capacity.

If anything this highlights just how much the rail network is worth to Sydney and NSW.

[tonyp]

Well of course it's worth a lot but it under-delivers. Sydney is growing and the rail network needs to be much more productive than it is, but is not able to be in its present form. It's not a cause for admiration in its present state. Sydney would be worse off without it for sure, but negatives are not a good basis for measuring achievement.

[Frosty]

I
Ten News is also reporting the government is looking to source around 750 additional buses to cover Monday's strike if it goes ahead, but that will barely cover 10% of the train network capacity.

I wonder where on earth they're going to get these 750 additional buses they might be able to get a few as for most schools students don't return until the 30th. The only winners from this rail-strike is Transurban.

It'll be interesting how people cope with the strike will people not bother to come into work and Sydney will be a ghost town or will it be armageddon.

[burrumbus]

Well of course it's worth a lot but it under-delivers. Sydney is growing and the rail network needs to be much more productive than it is, but is not able to be in its present form. It's not a cause for admiration in its present state. Sydney would be worse off without it for sure, but negatives are not a good basis for measuring achievement.

Beautifully put Tony.
The rail network,like the STA bus network just under delivers for a variety of reasons.Both organizations just haven't got the productivity,or the quality of service to deliver the capacity that Sydney needs to attract car drivers out of their cars in a very growing city.Without change gridlock is inevitable.

[burrumbus]

I
Ten News is also reporting the government is looking to source around 750 additional buses to cover Monday's strike if it goes ahead, but that will barely cover 10% of the train network capacity.

I wonder where on earth they're going to get these 750 additional buses they might be able to get a few as for most schools students don't return until the 30th. The only winners from this rail-strike is Transurban.

It'll be interesting how people cope with the strike will people not bother to come into work and Sydney will be a ghost town or will it be armageddon.

They might just get the 750 buses-but there aren't large numbers of spare buses within the contract operators.They will need to source a lot of buses from the various charter operators.The biggest issue as allways will be sourcing the drivers.

[boronia]

I
Ten News is also reporting the government is looking to source around 750 additional buses to cover Monday's strike if it goes ahead, but that will barely cover 10% of the train network capacity.

I wonder where on earth they're going to get these 750 additional buses they might be able to get a few as for most schools students don't return until the 30th. The only winners from this rail-strike is Transurban.

It'll be interesting how people cope with the strike will people not bother to come into work and Sydney will be a ghost town or will it be armageddon.

I think school buses will still have to run, same as school zone speed limits will apply, on the Monday, because that is the official start of the school term.

[burrumbus]

Correct Boronia.Being the first day of school the vast majority of the government contracted school buses have to run for the schools that go back on the Monday-all private schools.
With the Monday being a pupil free day,or staff development day for the government schools.Most buses will be pretty empty.
Hope this helps.

[Roderick Smith]

January 16 2018 'No other choice': NSW train workers to strike for 24 hours over pay dispute .
NSW train workers will strike for 24 hours on January 29 after negotiations over pay and conditions fell apart.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) announced the strike on Tuesday, saying it was the result of Sydney Trains and NSW Trains management "refus[ing] to negotiate a fair and reasonable enterprise agreement".
More videos Constance sorry for the 'mess' but no refunds.
The state government has rejected calls for Sydney train passengers to receive fare refunds despite two days of chaos on the city's rail network.
Workers will stop work at 12.01am on Monday, January 29, and continue until midnight, on a day some students will be returning to school after the holidays.
Alex Claassens, the union's NSW secretary, said commuters were given as much notice as possible to make alternate arrangements.
"There's never an ideal time to take this kind of action, but the reality is, we have to," Mr Claassens said.
"The Transport Minister and management haven't left us with any other choice."
The strike announcement comes after a horror week for the city's rail network, which left thousands of commuters stranded in peak hour.
Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins had warned if drivers refused to work unplanned or rostered overtime, it could cause fresh chaos.
Train workers will strike for 24 hours on January 29 over a pay dispute. Photo: Kate Geraghty .
Mr Claassens said the union had been attempting to negotiate an enterprise agreement on behalf of 9000 workers for more than six months, but the NSW government and trains management refused to bargain on pay and basic conditions that impact workers' safety.
"The terrible way management and the NSW Government are willing to treat their hard-working employees has been laid bare for everyone to see lately," he said. "All workers are asking for fair working conditions and wages in return for the work they do."
A staff shortage caused major delays last week, including leaving commuters packed at Wynyard Station. Photo: SEVEN NEWS .
He said the government could stop the strike at any time in the next two weeks if they returned to the negotiating table with a "fair agreement".
Rail workers are unhappy about the current enterprise agreement and have voted to take industrial action as they continue to fight for a 6 per cent pay rise and improved working conditions including rostering and claiming days off.
Transport minister Andrew Constance with Sydney Trains CEO Howard Collins at Martin Place on Monday. Photo: Kate Geraghty .
While Mr Claassens acknowledges the proposed 6 per cent rise is "a bit out there," he says members want decent recognition for their work.
Transport minister Andrew Constance denied negotiations have broken down and said the strike was "ridiculous", "an escalation" and "weird behaviour" by the RTBU.
"They will shut down the city in taking this step," Mr Constance said. "This is not putting customers first, this is putting interests of union bosses first, well above the customers.
"The government is willing to make a pay rise offer to Sydney train drivers and NSW train drivers. It's in accordance with the wages policy, that is a 2.5 per cent per annum increase.
"In terms of the rest of the enterprise agreement, roll it over ... that's what's on the table."
Mr Constance urged the union to call off the strike and "put commuters first".
"We have a Fair Work hearing under way, we have a discussion that is going to happen between Unions NSW and Sydney Trains on Thursday, and we'll go from there," he said.
"The RTBU are no longer leading this negotiation, Unions NSW are, and that's appropriate."
The strike comes after workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking protected industrial action last week.
On Monday, the union announced it would take two forms of action. Workers will wear union campaign material including badges from January 19, and an indefinite ban on overtime will be in place from January 25.
Figures released by the union show 94 per cent of voting Sydney Trains workers were in favour of striking for up to 72 hours, while 90 per cent of NSW Trains workers who voted were in favour.
An overwhelming majority of workers who voted in the ballot were also in favour of stopping work for a week or more.
Related Articles:
Cost of investigation into transport leaks climbs .
Sydney rail workers vote to take industrial action over pay .
Rail unions warn industrial campaign to start this Friday .
Sydney Trains short of drivers as crunch day arrives .
102 comments http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/no-other-choi ... 0j6g8.html

[andy_centralcoast]

Rail nightmare: Secret reports reveal fire dangers on Sydney's train network
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/rail-nightmar ... 0ivge.html

I feel like we've been here before, but the SMH is again reporting on the fire traps of Town Hall and Wynyard. A "Cabinet in confidence" document from January 2016 warns of catastrophic consequences of a fire in the underground network, and a lack of staff training to deal with such an event. Town Hall in particular is lacking many safety features such as exhaust or ventilation systems, which are present in Melbourne's Underground City Loop. Installation for the City Circle is estimated to cost almost $1 billion.

[boronia]

#WesternLine 10:11 Richmond to Central service has been cancelled due to a train hitting the buffers at Richmond earlier

Reports on social media of major medical response to Richmond.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/people-injure ... 0lzg6.html

NSW Incident Alerts
18 mins ·

#RICHMOND: A train has derailed near Richmond Station. Reports suggest the train has hit barricades with several people injured at this stage.

Rescue helicopters are en-route. Fire and Rescue NSW stating it’s a major incident.

3 people are currently trapped. 6 more FRNSW crews are on the way.

NSW Ambulance says paramedics are treating 10 patients with minor injuries, two have serious injuries.

Richmond to Central line has been cancelled.

[andy_centralcoast]

There are some photos in the ABC News article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-22/s ... nd/9348398

Channel 7 is running a live stream from their helicopter on Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1vAGRMvjalzKl

[Scott4570]

According to Channel 7 vision at 1100 hours (Daylight Saving Time), set A42 Leading Car 6342 has hit the Buffers at Richmond.

[Free Lance]

NOT A BUS but certainly a Transport issue,

As many as 13 people have been injured after a train hit a buffer stop at the end of the rail line at Richmond station in Sydney's north-west. (22.1.18)

Tell me it wasn't driver fatigue. This will be a fun time for the RBTU.

Never lets the actual facts get in the way of a good story

[Jurassic_Joke]

Yeah well if anything, the RBTU would be able to use this incident to justify/keep pushing for the ban on overtime.

I'd like to raise a finger and point it to "driver fatigue from overtime" but nothings been said yet, so can't really speculate.

[Tonymercury]

So why did you?