Sydney Trains

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https://twitter.com/AndrewConstance/status/1034717837175140352

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https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1037274558787510272

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1038844349801353216

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https://twitter.com/fictillius/status/1039324700155895808

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Illawarra Mercury -->  Will the South Coast line be getting extra carriages?

Surplus train carriages will be moved around the network to bolster services, says Transport for NSW.

But it unclear if the South Coast line will see any of the rolling stock that will be freed up as the New Intercity Fleet is introduced from next year.

There have been calls for the government to add carriages to two crowded four-car afternoon trains on the South Coast line.

Kiama MP Gareth Ward has just launched a petition pushing his own government to take action – a sign some have taken to mean it is already a done deal.

While Transport for NSW is now developing plans for the reallocation of trains and carriages, any decisions won't be finalised for some time.

What is known is that Sydney will definitely get some of the Oscar trains that could also operate on the South Coast.

"V-Set trains will be progressively retired following the introduction of the New Intercity Fleet while the Oscar sets will primarily be re-deployed to the Sydney Trains Network enabling some of the older train sets to be retired," a Transport for NSW spokesman said.

It remains to be seen whether the South Coast will get any of those remaining Oscars.

"We will be reviewing customer OPAL data and patronage counts to optimise the utilisation of new and existing rolling stock, to deliver improved customer outcomes across the rail network," the spokesman said.

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https://twitter.com/HowieCollins/status/1041494075780718592

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Two trains evacuated after fire in tunnel on eastern suburbs line

Commuters looking to start their weekend are experiencing delays on the Sydney trains system on Friday night after smoke from an earlier fire at Edgecliff that prompted two trains to be evacuated.

The trains, carrying around 300 passengers in total, were evacuated after a fire broke out in a tunnel in the eastern suburbs around 4pm.

The fire, which broke out about 200 metres east of Edgecliff station, was initially contained by staff on board a westbound train and extinguished by the driver, a spokeswoman for Fire and Rescue NSW said.

About 150 passengers on board that train, and another 150 on board an eastbound train, were evacuated, she said.

Trains were stopped in both directions between Bondi and Town Hall for more than an hour, and replacement buses put in place.

Shortly after 5pm, services recommenced but commuters on the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line were warned they should expect delays.

However, the delays have extended beyond the T4 line.

Services are also affected on the T2 Inner West & Leppington line, T3 Bankstown line and T8 Airport & South line, with most recent tweets from those lines advising of delays issued around 6.30pm.

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ABC --> Sydney's secret train tunnels under St James Station to be opened to public


Photo: The tunnels were built for a train line to the northern beaches but were never finished. (ABC News: Taryn Southcombe)

A network of disused railway tunnels at Sydney's St James Station would become bars, restaurants and retail space under a plan announced by the NSW Government.

The blueprint would see the dusty, damp tunnels — which were built under the CBD in the 1920s — become a trendy new tourist attraction for the Harbour City.

They are part of a never-realised transport vision in Sydney, which would have seen a train link to the northern beaches.

That plan was abandoned during the great depression.

During World War II, the 6,000 square metres of underground space was designated as air raid shelters, but never used. ...

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RTBU Loco Express --> Massive Loco win – Minister rules out Driver Only

The Loco Division has had a big win today, with the NSW Transport Minister ruling out driver-only operations on the New InterCity Fleet.

Loco Division Secretary, Bob Hayden, said the commitment from the Minister has come after a long campaign by the union.

"The Loco Division has long campaigned against driver-only operations," Bob Hayden said.

"We have, and will, always campaign against a form of working which we believe to be unsafe. Driver-only operations place a higher burden of responsibility on drivers and is a risk to the driver, other workers and commuters.

"Driver-only operations place a driver's own health and safety at risk if they are involved in an incident and or become incapacitated at work. It's a risk we can't afford to take.

"The Locomotive Division  has fought a long and hard-fought campaign. Drivers know the increased risks that Driver Only would introduce, and we simply couldn't sit by and let it happen."

"The Minister, Andrew Constance today confirmed that he'd listened and decided that driver-only will not be introduced on our trains.

"While it is great news and vindicates the arguments that the Division has run and will continue to run, which had for nearly 2 years been ignored by Transport for NSW and NSW Trains.

"A huge thank you and congratulations to everyone who has been part of the fight, although we must remain vigilant and be prepared to continue to fight should driver-only raise its head in the future."

You can see the press conference here on our Facebook page, and see the union's media release about it here.

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Transport for NSW --> Digital Systems to transform Sydney's rail network

The transformation of Sydney's rail network through Digital Systems is a step closer with the NSW Government signing a $16 million contract to ensure new technology is properly integrated into the Sydney Trains network.

Network Rail Consulting has been awarded the System Integrator contract and will play a key role in defining and delivering the Digital Systems program. The System Integrator brings experience from deployment of comparable systems delivered on Thameslink and on the Madrid suburban network, as well as many other projects through Europe and globally.

In June 2018, the NSW Government announced an $880 million investment in technology improvements to modernise the Sydney Trains network, including the development of Digital Systems.

The Digital Systems Program is the next phase of More Trains, More Services, and contains three main elements:

    Replacing trackside signalling equipment with the latest European Train Control System Level 2 technology
    Implementing Automatic Train Operation, which will be used to assist drivers – who will still remain in control – and provide faster and more consistent journey times
    Introducing a Traffic Management System for more effective incident management and service regulation across the network.

These elements will transform Sydney's rail network, creating improved services  for our customers.

The System Integrator will lead collaboration with key partners in delivering Digital Systems. They will also assist with procurement of major supplier packages, which will continue in 2019.

Digital Systems will be delivered in stages with services coming online progressively from the early 2020s.

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Daily Telegraph --> Central Station's commuter chaos over lightning strikes and weight of people trying to get home

Sydney's public transport buckled under the sheer weight of commuters leaving the city after the midnight fireworks, with one furious traveller labelling the situation "a disgrace".

The scenes of chaos emerged after bumper crowds flooded the Sydney CBD for the annual New Year's Eve celebrations.

Despite encouragement from organisers to use public transport, photos have emerged online of massive crowds packing Central Station around 1am this morning.

CEO of Sydney Trains Howard Collins said that the train system was struck with hundreds of lightning bolts throughout the evening.

"With our storm tracking software we saw hundreds of lightning hits," he said.

"This wasn't just one lightning strike, this was hundreds of hits on our overhead wiring, on the ground below."

Multiple places around the Sydney Trains network were smashed by the destructive lightning strikes, which obliterated key pieces of rail infrastructure.

"Seven or eight different locations were hit ... places like Lindfield, Gordon, Flemington, Casula, where the wires were directly hit by lightning and the wire dropped," Mr Collins said.

"At Central Station ... we lost a vital crossing and for 40 minutes, staff in the storm tried to chase the cable."

Mr Collins said the damage was so significant that crews struggled to make the urgent repairs.

"Every time we put the fuses back in they blew once more," he said.

Mr Collins assured the public that it would be business as usual tomorrow, with many commuters heading back to work.

"We are recovering slowly, we're getting those trains back to their major depots to be ready for tomorrow morning," he said.

"We're just getting back to normal and we are hoping to get every train in place ready for tomorrow morning."

Mr Collins apologised to commuters for the chaos which ruined the night of so many Sydneysiders.

"Yes it took longer, i'm really sorry about that, but we tried to do the best we can," he said.

Sydney Trains spokeswoman Vanessa Grimm said that the lengthy delays were caused when lightning directly struck vital equipment.

"Last night's direct lightning strikes on equipment such as signal boxes will have flow-on effects on the network today, with some delays and cancellations," she said.

Vital repair work was required to fix the heavily damaged equipment.

It is understood that this repair work was responsible for the massive delays on trains around the city last night.

"We thank our customers for their patience while vital repair work due to the storm cells was undertaken," Ms Grimm said.

Engineers were working to repair the equipment around the city, but delays persist on train lines connecting Sydney's north, south, inner west and the Blue Mountains.

Ms Grimm also said that Sydney Trains employees assisted police in containing last night's overflowing train stations.

"Sydney Trains worked closely with NSW Police to clear massive crowds through Central Station and other CBD stations safely," she said.

Although it has been almost 12 hours since Sydney welcomed in the New Year, Ms Grimm said that commuters should give themselves "plenty" of extra travel time.

Commuters complained of delays of up to three-and-a-half hours, from as early as 6pm.

One frustrated commuter said that the situation was a "complete train meltdown".

Another wrote that a guard at Lindfield train station told commuters to stretch their legs, despite pouring rain.

The chaos was still affecting journeys as the sun rose on the first day of the new year. In a statement, Sydney Trains blamed thunderstorm and lightning activity for the ongoing issues.

Sydney Transport Stats reported that 45 per cent of Sydney Trains trips were delayed between 7am and 9am this morning.

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Sydney Morning Herald --> New Year rail chaos underscores 'vulnerabilities' in Sydney network

Severe delays to trains across Sydney's rail network on New Year's Eve following a thunderstorm has again underscored a lack of resilience in the system, as new figures show a deterioration in on-time running of services over the past four months.

Thousands of revellers experienced delays of several hours to their journeys home from New Year's Eve celebrations after the storm caused major disruptions to train services.

The flow-on effects cascaded across multiple lines, resulting in severe levels of overcrowding at train stations such as Central, Town Hall and Wynyard as people returned home after watching fireworks on Sydney Harbour or attending other festivities.

The severe disruptions were blamed on lightning hitting overhead electrical wiring or signalling at eight locations on the rail network early on Monday evening, including at Gordon, Flemington and in the southern parts of the CBD.

At Central Station, a vital crossing for trains known as the "flying junction" was taken out of action for about 40 minutes following the thunderstorm.

Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins conceded that vulnerabilities remained in the network, limiting its ability to recover quickly from major incidents.

"We have done a lot of work on more modern systems [and] greater power supply back up, but we still have a vulnerability. That's why certainly we're looking for more investment – remote switching of power, more signalling systems," he said.

The meltdown comes as figures show Sydney Trains has failed to meet its performance target for the past four months of 92 per cent of peak services arriving within five minutes of their scheduled time. The worst performance was in November when 12 per cent of trains did not meet the target.

Mr Collins said the on-time performance was worse than the same period a year earlier, when the rail operator beat its target every month, due to a combination of factors such as weather-related events and an increase in services.

The introduction of 24 new Waratah trains, which would replace decades-old S-Sets, should improve the network's reliability, especially on T2 and T8 lines, he said.

But Labor leader Michael Daley said the severe disruptions on one of the busiest nights of the year showed that "something is seriously wrong" with the train network, and he cited a $130 million cut to rail maintenance last year.

"If you neglect the system, it lets you down," he said.

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Daily Telegraph --> Sydney Metro northwest commuters won't be hit with private fare prices on trips

COMMUTERS using the Sydney Metro northwest will pay the same fares as the rest of the Sydney Trains network, according to the NSW Government.

Transport for NSW revealed prices for customers using the Metro will be in line with current Sydney Train fares pricing — after concerns from Hills residents they would be charged similar surcharges to the Sydney Airport line.

"Sydney Metro will be part of the Opal network and fares will be set by the NSW Government, just like the rest of Sydney," a Transport for NSW spokesman told the Times.

"There will be no surcharge to use Sydney Metro."

OPAL FARE ESTIMATES

Cherrybrook Station to Macquarie Park — $3.54 ($2.47 off-peak)

Rouse Hill Station to Central Station — $6.76 ($4.73 off-peak)

Kellyville Station to Epping Station — $4.40 ($3.08 off-peak)

Castle Hill Showground Station to Central Station — $5.05 ($3.53 off-peak)

Tallawong Station to Norwest Station — $3.54 ($2.47 off-peak)

Sydney Metro northwest services are expected to commence in the second quarter of this year, as Hills residents are given a sneak-peek of the soon-to-be-completed stations.

The release of information around fare prices comes after Baulkham Hills state Labor candidate Ryan Tracey called for the amounts to be released before the NSW Election.

Mr Tracey said the Metro was a Builder Owner Operator Transfer Scheme — meaning the network would be privately operated — like the Sydney Airport line.

"The one way cost of train travel from the city to the airport is exorbitant, which is why people avoid paying such an outrageous cost," Mr Tracey said.

"I want to ensure people living in the Hills are not forced to pay more than others do on the Sydney trains network."

Mr Tracey said Hills residents were also concerned the new network would result in a reduction of bus services, "to force people onto the northwest metro".

"They want to retain the bus services we have," he said.

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https://twitter.com/7NewsSydney/status/1084723033263136769

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https://twitter.com/gusworldau/status/1086118845738172416

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https://twitter.com/TransportforNSW/status/1087559210957598720

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https://twitter.com/AndrewConstance/status/1087993387209371648

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Overhaul of decades-old Sydney passenger trains running late

A major upgrade to NSW's decades-old fleet of Tangara passenger trains – already running eight months' late – is unlikely to be finished until next year because of challenges installing new technology.

The overhaul is aimed at extending the working life of the Tangara fleet by about a decade by improving their reliability and safety, helping Sydney's rail network cope with a forecast 21 per cent surge in passenger trips over the next three years.

Asked why the $219 million project was running late, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said that "we are dealing with very old trains and we're fitting new technology to them".

Mr Constance said Sydney Trains and the state's main transport agency would pressure the contractor to deliver the project "as quickly as possible".

A consortium of UGL and Unipart Rail won a $131 million contract in 2015 to upgrade technology on 446 Tangara passenger rail cars. It was due to be completed by May last year.

The contract is part of the overall $219 million project to upgrade the Tangara fleet, which includes the installation of automatic train protection technology recommended in 2005 by an inquiry into the Waterfall train crash which killed seven people.

The roll out of the automatic train protection technology across the state's trains and electrified rail network has proved a challenge since the project began in 2008.

"We have done a lot of work and we are going to continue to roll it out over the next 18 to 24 months," Mr Constance said on Monday.

Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said important aspects of the upgrade to the Tanagara trains such as the installation of a modern computer control system would be prioritised.

"We will prioritise what is important to be finished this year, but I can't imagine that everything will be complete by the end of this calendar year," he said.

However, he insisted the delay would not impacted the performance of the city's railway.

"The most important thing for those Tangaras is fitting them out so they can be operated in the [new] signalling system, which will be completed in the next two years, and also putting in the new train management system," he said.

"We could continue to run those trains, and not affect our performance, as they are today. But we all know that we want better facilities."

The installation of new doors on the Tangara carriages has been completed. The old doors had been identified as one of the reasons for the trains' poor reliability.

The Tangara fleet entered service on Sydney's rail network in the 1980s and 1990s.

Sydney Trains has been making its case to the state government for continued investment in its train fleet to cope with record growth in demand.

It will press into service over the coming months the final batch of 24 new Waratah trains, which will allow it to retire the last S-Sets – the oldest in the suburban fleet – by the middle of this year. The S-Sets lack air conditioning, earning them the nickname"sweat seats".

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https://twitter.com/AndrewConstance/status/1092930205469954048

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I'm terribly sad to see the silver sets go - spent the first 5 years of my life growing up in Sydney and I remember my late Mum taking me in the pram onto the silver sets trains back in the late 80s, so there's a ton of memories for me with them, very nostalgic.   Really hoping that some will be given to the heritage groups for preservation and hopefully the odd day where they come out to give rides like they've done recently with the red rattlers.

On the plus side, still happy to see the Tangaras around, those were brand new when my family was planning on moving to Qld.

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^ I was bit like that with the Taits in Melbourne town.   You do get attached to the trains you grew up on ...

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Sydney's stretched rail network in store for $900m in new trains

Record growth in passengers on Sydney's stretched rail network has spurred the Berejiklian government to order an extra 17 new trains to cope with the "off-the-charts" demand.

The new batch of Waratah trains, which will be built in China, will cost the state about $900 million, which includes their ongoing maintenance. Once off the production line, the first of the 17 Waratah B-sets is due to begin running on the city's suburban network in August 2020.

The latest order comes as Sydney Trains has pressed into service half of the 24 Waratah B-sets ordered several years ago. The latter will allow the rail operator to retire four-decades-old S-Set trains – dubbed "sweat sets" because of their lack of airconditioning – by mid-year.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the investment in the trains – noticeable for their orange driver cabins – was needed because of the rapid growth across the rail network.

"By bolstering our order by another 17 trains, we will make the network more reliable and more comfortable for our customers," he said.

Sydney's 163-year-old train network is struggling under the demands of what the government describes as "an explosion in demand". Last year passengers took more than 413 million journeys on the rail system, up 38 per cent from 300 million in 2013.

And over the next three years a 21 per cent rise in annual passenger trips is forecast.

While the remaining S-Set trains will be retired in the coming months, Mr Constance said the "growth is so huge" that other old trains in the state's fleet, such as the silver K-Sets, would remain in service even when the extra Waratah trains arrive from next year.

"We are making the additional 17-train purchase, not on the basis to replace old trains; we're doing it on the basis of growth and growth only. At this stage there is no strategy to replace the K-Sets," he said.

"A hundred million passenger increase in a five-year period is off the charts, and that's what we've had to cater for."

Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said the rail operator was working on plans to improve the reliability of the K-Set trains. "The good thing is those trains are airconditioned – that's why we've kept them," he said.

Under the original contract, the government has the option of purchasing another 28 eight-car trains from a consortium of China's CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles company and Australian engineering firm Downer EDI.

And while there will be slight changes to train services in the short term, Mr Constance said there would not be a major overhaul of the rail timetable until 2022 or 2023, following an upgrade to signalling. "We will see service adjustments, as you do with any timetable, but there will not be a major overhaul until we see the digitising of the network," he said.

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https://twitter.com/7NewsSydney/status/1092978647336550400

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SMH --> Railroads parading as metros: the long and short of Sydney rail maze

There's a lot to be said for not making the perfect the enemy of the good. Criticism of the transport policies of Gladys Berejiklian's government should grapple with the fact the government is doing a lot, and a lot of what it is doing will be of huge benefit to Sydney and NSW.

But sometimes the government does things that are weird, and it can be difficult not to quibble with the good.

This column is about the government's confused and the confusing use of the term "metro".

It  is building – has pretty much built – a "metro" rail line from Epping to beyond Rouse Hill. It is building another "metro" under Sydney's harbour and central business district, from Chatswood to Sydenham. It will extend that "metro" to Bankstown. This week it said it would start construction on a line between Westmead and the CBD next year. And it has committed to a "metro" running to the airport at Badgerys Creek.

Those scare quotes are meant to suggest there is something awry with the government's use of the term. It seems to mean a couple of things by the term metro. Mostly it means a certain type of train – one that is more light-weight than the regular Sydney Trains double-deckers. It means a single-deck train which, in Sydney's case, will be operated without drivers.

The government also uses the term metro as synonymous with fast. These new metro lines will be faster than the clunky old regular train services, it says.

But in other parts of the world, metro means more than just small train. Because metro trains are lighter than, well, heavier rail, they are quick to start and stop. This makes them well suited to inner-city areas where there are plenty of rail stations. And this is how they are most often used.

According to the International Association of Public Transport, the average gap between stations on a metro line is 1.2 kilometres. The average gap between metro stations in Europe is even smaller, at less than a kilometre.

As a consequence, metros tend to be less suited for longer trips. The frequency of stops makes lengthier journeys annoying. This is particularly so because metro trains often do not have many seats (less of a problem if you're travelling shorter distances).

In this regard, metro rail is typically contrasted with suburban or commuter rail. There is no sharp line between the two types of rail system. But as a rough guide, commuter or suburban rail brings people into inner areas from the suburbs. Once in the inner city, depending on where you are in the world, you might be able to change from a commuter rail to a metro.

So you catch the Long Island Rail Road to Manhattan before transferring to the subway. You change to the Tube from one of the commuter rail lines that radiates from London. Or you hop from the Paris RER to the Métro.

Global commuter rail systems are said to have an average trip length of about 20 kilometres. This is about the length of the average trip on Sydney Trains. Sydney's rail system is a commuter rail system.

Which gets to the meat of the issue. The government is spending tens of billions introducing metro trains to Sydney. But those trains are being set up to largely replicate Sydney's commuter rail trips – long trips, with long gaps between stops.

The government is using metro trains to try to be all things to all people. But this can produce some weird results.

This week Berejiklian announced the stop locations on the proposed West Metro line between Westmead and the CBD. In the inner west, her government proposes one stop at Five Dock and another at Rozelle. There's a 5km gap in between – almost five times more than the global average between metro stops.

Similarly, on the metro line under construction between Chatswood and Sydenham, there is a gap of about 4km between stops at Waterloo and Sydenham. Gaps between inner-city Sydney Trains stations are much smaller.

So Sydney's heavy trains, which are slow to stop and start, will continue to stop more frequently in the inner suburbs. But the metro trains, which are well-suited to more frequent stopping and starting, will travel longer without coming to a halt.

It didn't have to be like this. A decade ago, the Herald held an exhaustive public inquiry into Sydney's transport system. The inquiry focused heavily on understanding the benefits and attributes of different types of rail.

Based on this understanding, the experts running the inquiry recommended expanding and adding to Sydney's existing commuter rail network, and then later complementing the commuter network with genuine stand-alone metro lines with frequent stops.

This Coalition government's heavy funding of rail through Sydney is undoubtedly a break from the ordinary in NSW. But it's another question about whether the benefits will be all they could have been.

In particular, there is a good chance that the large gaps between rail stations in inner Sydney will be seen, in  decades to come, as examples of muddled thinking leading to a missed opportunity to create a city more oriented to public transport.

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SMH --> 'Quickest, cheapest' way to boost Sydney's train services

Sydney's stretched rail network could carry up to 40 per cent more passengers if its old signalling system was modernised to allow more services, Sydney Trains' chief executive says.

With the rail system under pressure from record growth in passengers, Howard Collins said a digital upgrade of the signalling system at a cost of about $3 billion would be the "biggest improvement we can make to the capacity of this city in a very short space of time".

Mr Collins, a former head of London Underground, said digital signalling would prove to be a "great return on relatively cheap investment", because it would boost the rail network's capacity by 30 to 40 per cent by allowing more frequent services.

"That is how the Tube got its greater capacity – it went from 3 million to 5 million people," he said.

"It doesn't say it's an alternative to Metro West and Metro Southwest but it actually gives us a lift in capacity quicker than trying to build metro north, south, east and west."

The Berejiklian government committed $880 million to a digital upgrade of signalling on the T8 Airport and T4 Illawarra lines in last year's state budget. Labor has promised to spend $3 billion on the existing rail network if it wins government at the election on March 23.

However, the bulk of the promises for rail are dedicated to new metro train lines, such as a mostly underground line from central Sydney to Parramatta, and a link between St Marys and the $5 billion-plus Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek.

Mr Collins conceded it was "not very sexy to sell to the public and politicians" an improvement to existing rail lines – even though it could lead to a train turning up every 2½ minutes and enhanced safety – compared with cutting a ribbon on a new rail line.

A digital upgrade to signalling enables trains to travel closer together, thereby increasing frequency. Automating protection systems on trains and tracks is also designed to allow trains to run at higher speeds while improving safety and reliability.

Mr Collins said he wanted to focus – if given the funding – on improving signalling on core parts of the network under acute pressure, such as the City Circle and the T1 Western lines. "A train every three minutes through the core of our railway – through Circular Quay, T4 and the T1 Parramatta – would be probably the realistic outcome that we'd get using double-deck technology," he said.

Four of NSW's top former rail executives argued in a confidential analysis several years ago that a $17 billion upgrade of the existing network would have "got a better overall result" for the city than ploughing tens of billions into new lines.

Sydney Trains also completed an internal report in September that presented as a desperate plea for funding to improve the condition of trains, tracks, bridges and other infrastructure.

It comes as one of the architects of a major project to boost Sydney's train services told staff last week that he is leaving for a senior consulting role in the private sector next month after almost four years at Transport for NSW.

Mark Keogh, who has been head of the state's Rail Service Delivery Office, oversaw a $4 billion-plus project to deliver "more trains, more services".

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https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1110205324428869633

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https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1110925997371592705

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https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/media-releases/more-train-services-to-gear-up-for-sydney-metro

More train services to gear up for Sydney Metro

12 Apr 2019

Seventy new weekly train services, including a city service every three minutes from Chatswood during the peak, are among the many improvements being introduced ahead of the start of Sydney Metro services. 

Minister for Transport Andrew Constance announced the additional weekly train services will be added to the timetable from Sunday 28 April, as preparations for Sydney Metro services move to the next level.

"Testing and commissioning of the new world class Sydney Metro is nearing completion and it is now time to get customers ready for when it opens in May," Mr Constance said.

"This game-changing public transport system will transform the way people get around Sydney and we need to make sure people are ready for it."

Sydney Trains CEO Howard Collins said the biggest changes will be on the T1 North Shore Line.

"On 28 April, we'll be adding capacity to the T1 North Shore Line, including a train every three minutes between Chatswood and Central during the busiest time of the morning peak," Mr Collins said.

"There will be some small adjustments to services on the T1 Western, T2 Inner West & Leppington, T5 Cumberland and T9 Northern Lines."

Transport Coordinator General Marg Prendergast said the changes are critical to integrate Metro with the city's existing rail network.

"It's essential customers can continue to make convenient connections on an expanded system," Ms Prendergast said.

"While we expect there to be some initial challenges, we are confident we will meet the needs of our existing rail customers, and the new customers that the Metro will bring."

Some local bus services will also be adjusted to align with trains.

More staff at key stations will be provided to manage crowds.

This will be complemented by some brand new customer initiatives, including 'Fast Track' platforms at Chatswood where extra Sydney Trains staff will assist customers board and alight trains.

'Fast Track' platforms are already used on busier stations like Central and they have been successful in minimising train dwell times.

New graphics will be added to Passenger Information Displays to show customers where seats are available, or where there is room to board on arriving trains, as well as new signage similar to other world class transport networks to help customers move more efficiently around key hub stations.

At Chatswood, customers getting off Sydney Metro trains will simply walk across the platform to catch a Sydney Trains service into the city. This easy interchange will happen while the Sydney Metro service is being extended into the city.

When it opens in May, Sydney Metro will provide a new turn-up-and-go rail service between Tallawong in Sydney's North West and Chatswood. The new railway is currently being extended from Chatswood to the city and beyond to Bankstown.

Customers will be able to find out more about the changes, and plan their journeys to see how these minor adjustments affect them, at www.transportnsw.info

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Illawarra Mercury --> Almost half the carriages on the new 10-car trains won't be able to fit at Unanderra station

Some Illawarra train station platforms will be lengthened to fit the introduction of 10-car sets - but Unanderra won't be one of them.

This is despite it being the only shortened platform on the run for express services to and from Sydney.

The platform at Unanderra is designated SP6, meaning the first two carriages of an eight-car train stop past the end of the platform.

Commuters wanting to get off at Unanderra have to travel in the last six carriages.

Just before the last election, the government promised that all peak-hour express services between Wollongong and Sydney would be 10 cars.

This means that, when these trains stop at Unanderra almost half the carriages will be past the platform.

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said further planning for rail upgrades would include changes to platforms.

"Planning for future stages of the More Trains, More Services program is currently under way, including stopping patterns and fleet across different time periods," the spokeswoman said.

"This planning work also includes platform extensions for some stations to accommodate 10-car trains."
At this stage, the spokeswoman said only six stations would be extended - Port Kembla, Wollongong, Thirroul, Waterfall, Bellambi and Kiama.

Of those, only Bellambi is a shortened platform - like Unanderra it is designated SP6.

However, the spokeswoman suggested Unanderra may not be permanently left as a shortened platform.

"Detailed planning is underway on the stopping patterns for future services, and we may consider platform extensions at other stations," the spokeswoman said.

Measures in the New Intercity Fleet will improve safety for trains at shortened platforms.

"To maintain customer safety and allow trains to stop at stations with shorter platforms, the fleet will feature automatic selective door operation technology to make sure that doors only open when carriages are aligned to the platform."

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Crowding worsens as more commuters pile on trains to Sydney CBD

The number of commuters travelling by train into Sydney's CBD during the busiest hour of the morning peak has surged by almost 8000 in a year, leading to crowding and putting more pressure on central city stations and the broader rail network.

With Sydney's population booming, passenger crowding on trains has worsened over the past year on many of the city's rail lines during the morning peak.

Average passenger loads on trains on the T1 Western, T1 Northern (via Strathfield), the T4 Illawarra and the T8 South lines between 8am and 9am were at least 140 per cent in September last year, new figures from the state's transport agency show.

Passengers start to experience overcrowding when trains reach loads of 135 per cent, which is the benchmark used by transport officials.

Overcrowded carriages also make it more difficult for trains to run on time, because of the longer stopping times needed to load and unload passengers.

In a sign of the pressure on the system, patronage on the suburban rail network is growing at 7 per cent a year, compared with the historical growth rate of 1.2 per cent per annum. In the past five years, train patronage has surged by 30 per cent.

Major relief from crowding on trains and stations in the CBD is still four years away when the second stage of a metro train line is due to open. The $12 billion line will run from Chatswood in the north, under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and into Sydenham and Bankstown.

Trains on the T8 Airport Line also recorded average loads of 132 per cent in September last year, compared with 126 per cent in the same month a year earlier.

The Airport line is under pressure from an influx of people moving into high-rise apartments at Green Square and Mascot in the inner south, and greater demand for trains to and from Sydney Airport.

Trains on three lines – the T1 Northern via Strathfield, the T1 Western and the T5 Cumberland – each had passenger loads during the morning peak in September as high as 180 per cent.

Mathew Hounsell, a researcher at the University of Technology's Institute for Sustainable Futures, said pressure would intensify on the city's existing rail network over the coming years despite the opening of new metro train lines.

"The increase in housing across Sydney's rail lines will put even more strain on the system in a few years time," he said. "Every additional person moving into an apartment in Sydney is going to be looking for a public transport option."

Mr Hounsell said average loads of 154 per cent on the T5 Cumberland Line in September showed that Parramatta needed to become an immediate focus of transport investment.

"If Sydney doesn't invest in high capacity public transport, we risk our overcrowded buses and trains stalling our economic growth," he said.

The Berejiklian government has committed $6.4 billion to a new rail line carrying metro trains between central Sydney and Parramatta, and promised to start construction next year.

However, reprieve for commuters using one of the lines most under pressure, the T1 Western, is years away because the new metro line is not due to open until the second half of next decade. The cost of Sydney Metro West is expected to near $20 billion.

The figures from Transport for NSW record passenger loads on trains travelling towards Central Station during the morning peak.

The average number of passengers carried on trains between 8am and 9am across all suburban lines – including the T5 Cumberland in the west – last September was about 117,000 a day, compared with almost 108,000 in the same month in 2017 and almost 101,000 in 2016.

Town Hall is one of the stations under acute pressure. Passengers passing through the CBD station's gates reached 68 million in the 12 months to June last year, a 23 per cent rise on the 55 million passengers in the 2015-16 financial year. That equates to about 13 million extra passengers at Town Hall.

The crowding on trains is also likely to explain why Sydney Trains has failed to meet its punctuality targets for the past three months of at least 92 per cent of services arriving within five minutes of its scheduled time during the morning and evening peaks.

Transport for NSW said it had forecast patronage on the rail network to grow by 21 per cent between 2016 and 2021, which was why it was taking steps to ensure services kept pace with demand.

The agency cited its "More Trains, More Services" program, which included the purchase of an additional 17 Waratah trains and investigations to boost capacity on high-demand lines such as the T4 Illawarra and T8 Airport.

"The greatest capacity boost will come when Sydney Metro is extended into the CBD and beyond in 2024," it said in a statement.

"The introduction of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest, together with signalling and infrastructure upgrades, will increase the capacity of train services into the CBD by up to 60 per cent."

[ozbob]

Daily Telegraph --> New technology alerts commuters which carriages have spare seats

Finding a seat on jam-packed trains has been promised to get a little easier from today with the introduction of carriage capacity indicators.

Screens next to platforms at some key Sydney stations will now calculate how many customers are on board and where there's space in each carriage.

Weight sensors on each of the 100 Waratah A and B trains — about half the Sydney Trains fleet — will send real-time information to the platforms.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said Transport for NSW and Sydney Trains has been analysing the way customers behaved and moved at major stations including Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney and Epping.

"This type of technology is used in stations around the world including in Singapore, Toyko, Seoul and Hong Kong," Mr Constance said.

Sydney's public transport has been confronted with surging use by a rapidly rising population — in March 2017 there were 30,682,314 individual trips on Sydney trains, according to Transport NSW.

By March 2019 that had increased by 6.5 per cent to be at 32,800,539 individual trips.

The displays will be connected to trains on the T1 North Shore and Western, T2 Inner West and Leppington, T3 Bankstown, T5 Cumberland, T7 Olympic Park (weekends only), T8 Airport and South and T9 Northern lines.

The carriage capacity indicator has been on real-time apps for over a year.

Arrows and signs on stairs encouraging commuters to keep to the left and platform markers urging people to stand to the side of the doors while passengers disembark are also at congested stations.

Sydney's busiest track is the Western Line at 2.5 people per square metre of carriage space, or 180 per cent capacity.

Arup transport strategist Terry Lee-Williams said we are not quite at Asia's level of four people per square metre.

"These little things that the government is doing can be quite powerful and change behaviour; it's a good idea," Mr Lee-Williams, a formerly chief transport adviser to the City of Sydney and a director at Transport NSW, said.

"It is a signal that we are struggling with capacity on the network and the government is using every trick in the book to help people to help themselves."

He said the screens will let passengers forgo a packed train because they will know they can get a seat on the next one.

[Cazza]

 

[techblitz]

 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TrainsInfo/status/1129859891655393280

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TrainsInfo/status/1130260458668060672

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TrainsInfo/status/1130668339137613824

[verbatim9]

Ah! Is that how they do it by calculating the weight of the train. So NGR trains must have this feature as well?

[ozbob]

Sydney Morning Herald --> Existing rail system shouldn't be forgotten in rush to shiny new train lines

If the first two days are any guide, Sydney's travelling public has spoken – they want more frequent and reliable train services.

A staggering 140,000 people travelled on a new 36-kilometre metro line between Chatswood and Rouse Hill in the city's north west on the opening day on Sunday, forcing the private operator to quickly put on more trains to clear crowds.

A day later, 21,000 commuters chose to hop on driverless trains on the $7.3 billion Metro Northwest line in the first five hours, significantly higher than the 15,000 to 17,000 forecast.

It left wide smiles on the faces of Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her closest transport advisers such as Rodd Staples, the NSW Transport Secretary and architect of the metro project.

The new line finally offers an option to many people in the north west who have long relied on their cars or buses to get around.

But it does not alleviate many of the increasing stresses on the existing heavy rail network, nor parts of the city starved of public transport options.

With a fast-growing population, the public's response to the new line will embolden the Premier to accelerate ambitious plans for a mostly underground metro train line between the central city and Parramatta known as Sydney Metro West.

Yet it is important that the existing heavy rail system is not forgotten in the rush for shiny new train lines. Sydney Trains' suburban rail network, some of which is about 160 years old, will carry the bulk of the city's rail commuters for decades to come.

It is under acute pressure from surging patronage, and will need all the care – and funding – it can get. And its success is as important, if not more, for much of the travelling public than new metro lines.

With the city's next metro line due to open by 2024, it is imperative that it and those that follow are integrated into the existing rail network in a way that results in improved services overall.

Commuters want a quick and reliable public transport system. Favouring one form of rail service over another will not achieve that outcome.

[achiruel]

From what I understand, the best way to improve Sydney Trains' network capacity is signalling upgrades, but the NSW Government is reluctant to commit several billion dollars to it because it doesn't have the electoral "shine" of a new line.

[verbatim9]

From what I understand, the best way to improve Sydney Trains' network capacity is signalling upgrades, but the NSW Government is reluctant to commit several billion dollars to it because it doesn't have the electoral "shine" of a new line.

^^This was taken to the NSW election Driverless Metro to out west compared to spending more money on the current network. But apparently signal upgrades are still on the way for most of the train network.

[SurfRail]

From what I understand, the best way to improve Sydney Trains' network capacity is signalling upgrades, but the NSW Government is reluctant to commit several billion dollars to it because it doesn't have the electoral "shine" of a new line.

Not true.  All the relevant work IS being done but it is a massive job and still does not provide the same new capacity as the new metro will when the next phase is completed to the CBD.  Look out for the comments on this and other similar SMH articles by the guy who clearly knows what he is talking about and keeps taking the conspiracy theorists to task.