NSW Trains Information Guide

Introduction

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009(GIPA Act) provides members of the public with a right of access to government information. The GIPA Act replaced the Freedom of Information Act 1989 (FOI).

Under the GIPA Act each NSW Government department and agency is required to publish an Agency Information Guide.

This Information Guide provides an overview of:

• our agency’s structure and functions
• the way in which our functions affect members of the public
• how members of the public can participate in policy formulation and provide feedback
• the kinds of information we hold, and
• information we make publicly available

NSW Trains 

Who we are

NSW Trains is a New South Wales Government agency, delivering public transport services to regional and interstate customers.  NSW Trains sits within the Regional and Outer Metropolitan Division of Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and trades as NSW TrainLink.

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is responsible for strategy, integration, coordination and improving the customer experience. More information on delivery of transport infrastructure and services in NSW is available in the TfNSW Information Guide.

Transport operators, including NSW Trains, focus on the provision of safe, clean, reliable and efficient transport services. Our legislated mandate is to provide safe and reliable passenger services throughout outer metropolitan and rural NSW and interstate.

What we do

NSW Trains provides booked and non-booked passenger rail and coach services through the customer facing NSW TrainLink brand and is focused on the specific needs of longer distance travellers who want reliable and comfortable journeys with on board facilities.

NSW Trains is responsible for the safe operation of passenger trains and stations and provides crew for trains and staff at stations within its network. It provides coach services through a network of coach operators.

Visit the NSW Transport website for information about passenger services and ticketing for booked services.

Structure and functions

Coordination of GIPA functions in the Transport cluster

TfNSW is responsible for the acknowledgement and initial processing of formal access applications.  Each Transport cluster agency remains responsible for making decisions regarding the release of information held by their organisation under the GIPA Act.

The TfNSW Information Guide provides more detail on access to information in the Transport cluster.

Organisational Structure

There are seven Directorates which make up the organisational structure of NSW Trains:  

• Finance & Commercial - branch provides dedicated commercial, risk management, advisory services and financial oversight to the NSW TrainLink business in conjunction with the TfNSW central functions and incorporates Finance & Commercial, Governance, Risk & Compliance, Procurement & Contracts and Service Delivery.  
• Network Services – Manages all key operational functions, including the day of operations management to support safe, reliable and efficient train and coach services within the NSW TrainLink network.
• Region North & Central – Leads the customer facing group of staff of NSW Trains.  The two regions (North & Central and South & West) are each fully accountable for delivering front line customer services including station operations and crewing.
• Region South & West – Leads the customer facing group of staff of NSW Trains.  The two regions (North & Central and South & West) are each fully accountable for delivering front line customer services including station operations and crewing.
• Safety – Provides services to NSW Trains to deliver expert specialist support and advice about, safety factors in line with legislative and regulatory requirements. 
• Customer Experience– Develops and improves rail and coach service offerings to our customers, including multimodal travel options.
• Transformation – Through a portfolio of programs, the Transformation Directorate partners with the business to ensure NSW TrainLink staff are future-ready, and that operational readiness requirements are met to deliver on our business objectives and organisational targets.
• Integration Fleet and Systems – Responsible for the integration, planning and delivery of a significant program of fleet and system projects that will satisfy NSW TrainLink's customers and communities across regional and outer metropolitan NSW.

The way in which our functions affect the member of the public

Reliability and service performance

NSW Trains works hard to meet our performance goals; however the performance of our services can be affected by a number of things.

Sometimes events happen on the rail network that can cause trains to be delayed or not reach their destination.  These are generally referred to as ‘incidents’.  It is important to note that a single incident can have more than one cause, and can delay more than one train.

Issues affecting reliability and performance may include: signal, track, overhead wiring and points problems, extreme weather conditions or storms, floods, fires and speed restrictions. 

For further information visit the Transport for NSW website.

Train Cleanliness

The cleanliness of carriages and stations is a priority for NSW Trains. We provide a 24-hour, seven-day cleaning service at depots and selected stations to ensure cleanliness meets customer expectations.

Safety

The safety of all who use its services remains NSW Trains’ top priority.  This includes the safety not only of customers, but also of employees, contractors and the community.

To keep people safe and secure, we have implemented a comprehensive Safety Management System. This is part of our ongoing commitment to meeting and, in many cases, exceeding the regulatory and statutory requirements.

Public participation and feedback

For information relating to rail, bus, ferry and light rail trips, members of the public can call the NSW Government transport information line on 131 500 (available 24 hours, 7 days a week).

NSW TrainLink welcomes feedback regarding the services it provides as well as about general transport services or issues. Customers can view our commitment to responding to feedback at https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/about-us/contact/complaints-and-feedback.

Customers can visit the www.transportnsw.info webpage for information on transport services (including real-time status alerts), or to ask questions, provide feedback on a service or make a complaint.  Members of the public can also contact the NSW TrainLink Customer Relations Unit on 1300 038 500.

Customers can also contact NSW TrainLink to access the following services:

• TTY (teletypewriter service) for hearing and speech impaired customers telephone 1800 637 500.
• For 24 hour assistance with Opal machines telephone 1800 808 822
• To report unclean train carriages or faulty equipment call the Transport Infoline on 131 500 and quote carriage number or location and nature of the fault.
• To report security issues contact the train guard or station staff or telephone 1800 657 926.

NSW TrainLink’s train and coach network serves a diverse range of communities from outer metropolitan to regional and rural communities.

To meet the needs of our many communities into the future, NSW Trains works to develop closer links with our stakeholders and a greater understanding the unique needs of each community we serve.  We engage with our communities and customers as a part of our everyday business to facilitate better decision making for the people who rely on our services.

NSW Trains runs regularengagement programs and builds relationships within communities so they have the opportunity to talk about our services and let us know how they can be best served by all transport in the future. These are important conversations to help guide planning for future service patterns and transport options for our regional and outer metropolitan communities.

Type of Information held

NSW Trains holds a wide variety of information concerning its operations, procedures and policies, along with data and other information relating to the management of the rail system across NSW regional and intercity services.

NSW Trains also routinely collects information from its customers for administrative, planning and reporting purposes. NSW Trains also collects information from employees and partners in the course of its operations.

NSW Trains is required to comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIP Act) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) (HRIP Act) when dealing with the personal information of its customers, employees and partners.

Information made publicly available

The following categories of information provide a sample of what is made publicly available on the TransportNSW.info and Transport for NSW websites:

• Information about regional routes and timetables;
• Information about intercity routes and timetables;
• Patronage and performance information;
• Covid 19 – Travel advice and information.

Open access Information

Open access information is a category of information explained further below under ‘Information we must disclose’:

• The NSW Trains Information Guide (this publication)
• NSW Trains Annual Reports
• The NSW Trains disclosure log of access applications
• NSW Trains Policies and Procedures
• The NSW Trains Register of Government Contracts

Open Data Policy

The Transport Open Data Policy is aligned to the NSW Government Open Data Policy and seeks to make appropriate government data available to industry and the community.  Open data supports the open government principles of transparency, participation, collaboration and innovation.  It augments the proactive release of information required under the GIPA Act.

TfNSW is committed to embedding open data principles at all levels of the cluster, as this can lead to faster, smarter, more responsive service delivery. It promotes the development of new businesses and industries that can make use of government data, facilitates data sharing between government agencies and enhances our own awareness, understanding and use of information.

Open Data principles are embedded across the Transport cluster by:

• Engaging with industry and the community to understand their needs for transport data
• Prioritising for release any high-value datasets, especially those identified through industry and community engagement
• Releasing data under open licence wherever possible
• Protecting data where required on the grounds of privacy, security, confidentiality legal privilege or public interest

NSW Trains supports the Transport Open Data Policy, and is represented within a wide range of transport data available via the TfNSW Open Data Hub which includes public transport and roads real-time data, statistical data and timetable data.

How to access information we hold

The GIPA Act provides members of the public with a right to access government information.

There are four ways that members of the public can access government information held by NSW Trains under the GIPA Act.

• Mandatory proactive release (Open Access Information)
• Authorised proactive release
• Informal release
• Access applications

Information we must disclose

Information classified as Open Access Information (OAI) is the type of information which NSW Trains must make publicly available, unless it is not in the public interest to do so.

NSW Trains makes OAI publicly available on its website free of charge, including this publication (agency information guide), information about NSW Trains tabled in Parliament (including the latest NSW Trains Annual Report), policy documents, the NSW Trains register of government contracts and the agency disclosure log of access applications.

Information proactively released

NSW Trains is required to have a program for the proactive disclosure of government information.

Proactive disclosure is the manner in which NSW Trains considers making information publicly available where appropriate. The proactive disclosure of information helps provide the public with greater access to government held information.

NSW Trains is a member of the Transport Cluster Proactive Disclosure Committee that meets regularly to consider and recommend information suitable for proactive disclosure. The Committee is chaired on a rotating basis by a senior Transport cluster executive in order to convey to staff the importance of proactive disclosure as part of day to day business.

Information proactively disclosed by the  transport cluster agencies is made available on this website.

If information sought is not available on the NSW TrainLink website, members of the public can suggest that information be proactively disclosed (if held).

Please forward any suggestions to the Information Access Unit by email to information@transport.nsw.gov.au

Informal requests for information

Members of the public can request information from NSW Trains on any topic of interest. If the information is clearly in the public interest to disclose, the request may be treated as an informal GIPA application and may be supplied free of charge.

NSW Trains may attach conditions to the informal disclosure of information. For example, we may provide access on a view-only basis where the requested information is sensitive and should remain confidential, but is relevant to the person making the request.

Under the GIPA Act a right of review only applies for formal applications.

If you would like to make an informal request for information, please contact the Information Access Unit on (02) 9549 9904 or by email to information@transport.nsw.gov.au.

 Formal access applications

In some cases requests for information held by NSW Trains will need to be made through the formal access application process.

To make a request for information held by TfNSW, an access application must:

• be in writing and addressed to the agency
• clearly indicate that it is a formal access application made under the GIPA Act
• provide a payment of $30 (by cheque or credit card)
• provide a postal address for correspondence in connection with an application
• include such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the government information applied for to be identified

If your application does not meet the above requirements, it will be invalid and the application will not be processed. However, in order to help you make a valid application, we will contact you to provide advice and assistance.

You may make an online application for information.

OR

You may send your application by post with a payment by cheque or money order to:

Information Access Unit

Transport for NSW

PO Box K659

Haymarket NSW 1240

If you would like to make an access application, please see How to Apply and FAQs on our website.

Formal access application fees and charges

Apart from the $30 application fee, the GIPA Act allows NSW Trains to impose a charge of $30 per hour in order to process an application. The application fee counts towards the first hour of processing.

In processing a formal access application NSW Trains is required to ensure that it is dealt with efficiently and provides access to requested information at the lowest reasonable cost.

A 50% discount in processing charges will apply if an applicant demonstrates they fall within any of the following categories:

• A member of the public suffering financial hardship
• Holders of a current Pensioner Concession Card
• Full-time students
• Non-profit organisations
• The information applied for is of special benefit to the public

Please note that the 50% discount applies only to processing charges and not to the $30 application fee.

If applying for your own personal information, NSW Trains cannot charge for the first 20 hours of processing time.

For further information about fees and charges, please see the section on the TfNSW website, or contact the Information Access Unit on (02) 9549 9904 or at information@transport.nsw.gov.au.

Requests for personal information can also be made under the PPIP Act.