Article: West faces weeks of disruptions despite plans to fix maintenance

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From the Sydney Morning Herald click here!

West faces weeks of disruptions despite plans to fix maintenance

West faces weeks of disruptions despite plans to fix maintenance
December 24, 2012 Jacob Saulwick Transport Reporter

THOUSANDS of western Sydney commuters and train users will face disruptions next month when RailCorp embarks on a trackwork program that will require trains to be replaced by buses.

The Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, has pledged to overhaul the way trackwork is performed in Sydney, including fewer weekend closures.

In the meantime, commuters will face severe disruptions to services between Wednesday, January 2, and Sunday, January 20.

Over that period, buses will replace all weekday trains between Glenfield and Fairfield on the South Line; between Liverpool and Villawood on the Inner West and Bankstown lines, and on the Cumberland Line that links Campbelltown and Blacktown.

On weekends during that period, buses will replace trains on the South Line between Macarthur and Granville, on the East Hills line between Macarthur and Kingsgrove, on the Bankstown Line between Liverpool and Villawood, and on the Southern Highlands Line.

Ms Berejiklian said in November weekend trackwork, long the bane of Sydney train users, would eventually be cut back as she proceeded with an overhaul of the city's train operations.

Next month's work represents an attempt to catch up on maintenance while weekend trackwork is still the norm. In this instance, RailCorp is even planning weekday work.

An international rail management expert, Rolf Bergmaier, has said it is rare in European train systems to regularly close lines for weekend trackwork.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/west-faces-weeks-of-disruptions-despite-plans-to-fix-maintenance-20121223-2btkw.html