NSW rail customers urged to plan ahead as industrial action causes disruption on Wednesday
NSW rail customers should plan their journeys in advance on Wednesday (August 10) as further protected industrial action will cause major disruptions throughout the day, particularly on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra and South Coast rail lines.
From 10am on Wednesday, Rail, Tram, and Bus Union (RTBU) members will take part in two work stoppages, completely stopping the movement of all trains on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra and South Coast rail lines until 4pm.
Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland said the work stoppages would affect all rail customers, including in the morning and evening peaks, with fewer services, longer journey times, and changes to stopping patterns across the network.
“While the union action officially starts at 10am, our customers will start to feel the effects from around 6am. To ensure the safety of our customers, staff, and network overall, trains will need to be taken back to stabling yards and depots before the industrial action starts,” Mr Longland said.
“Although all staff will return to work at 4pm, customers will need to allow plenty of extra time while trains return to the network. The timetable is expected to be fully operational by around 8pm.
“We would normally have more than 70,000 customers travelling on the T4 and South Coast lines on any given Wednesday. These customers include school children, essential workers, the elderly, tourists, and people in need of care commuting to Kogarah Hospital.
“We urge all our customers to plan ahead by catching alternative public transport or working from home on Wednesday, if possible.
“We thank customers for their patience during this period of industrial action and we will continue working with unions to resolve our new Enterprise Agreement.”
NSW TrainLink Chief Executive Dale Merrick said South Coast passengers will be heavily impacted and must plan ahead.
“We urge our South Coast customers to reconsider any non-essential travel on Wednesday or to use alternative transport where possible,” Mr Merrick said.
“We also want to remind our customers travelling on other lines to check for delays and cancellations before planning travel on our TrainLink lines on Wednesday.”
In addition to Wednesday’s stop work action, RTBU members are carrying out a range of other protected industrial actions which will progressively degrade service levels across the NSW rail network if they continue as planned.
Customers should visit transportnsw.info for the latest information and consider alterative transport options.
Motorists from the Illawarra and South Coast are reminded Heathcote Road is impacted by flood damage and a contraflow is in operation.
Heathcote Road is open westbound from 5am to 12pm and eastbound from 1pm to 8pm between Monday and Friday.
For information on traffic flows and detours visit livetraffic.com.
Road users can also download the Live Traffic NSW App for the latest traffic updates.