NSW Premier Chris Minns warns trains a ‘massive' election issue after brutal report
Transport for NSW data released on Thursday revealed the bleak reality for commuters, with 16 per cent of city trains not running on time in the 2024-25 financial year.
The result is the worst for Sydney's rail network in years and comes after months on instability wrought by protracted industrial action and major technical failures.
Mr Minns on Thursday refused to blame industrial action as being the sole cause of the network's issues, admitting it was a 'huge challenge for the government'.
'If we don't rapidly improve performance on our railways in the coming months, then voters will send a message to us loud and clear at the next election,' he said.
'This is a massive issue for us. I'm not running away from it … I'm not putting it down to industrial disputes.
'The pressure and the responsibility is on us, the government, to increase reliability and on-time running in the public transport network.
'I can assure you, we're putting resources into it as we speak.'
Mr Minns admitted solving the state's longstanding pay dispute with the Combined Rail Unions had been the government's 'focus'.
With a deal reached, Mr Minns said the 'full resources' of senior leadership of Sydney Trains and TfNSW, and the Premier's office, would be on 'punctuality'.
'We're a big international city, (and) the only way big international cities work and people can get to work and from work is using public transport,' he said.
'There is no alternative, and we need to make sure that it's world class'.
Mr Minns said the state government had invested $740m into backlog maintenance on the rail network.
At the same time, TfNSW secretary Josh Murray announced in an email to staff on Wednesday plans to slash 950 senior positions at the transport authority.
It comes after earlier jobs were cut as part of an election pledge by Mr Minns to slash senior echelons of the public service by 15 per cent.
Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said the union was seeking details on the specific positions to be cut.
Asked whether he could assure commuters the cuts would not affect the performance of the network, Mr Minns said: 'Yes, I can.
'I've looked and scrutinised these numbers very closely, and I'm not flippant about this.
'I realise that these are jobs, they're families, they're people's lives and … it's a difficult decision for the government to make.
'The simple truth, however, was that Transport for NSW grew by 48 per cent over four years – a massive, massive increase in the headcount of that department.
'We need more on-the-ground, frontline public servants doing the difficult but necessary job of providing that service, and that's where our focus is going.'
Addressing the data later on Thursday, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said it 'came as no surprise' to commuters.
'This is not just a set of statistics. This is a set of failure by the Minns Labour government,' he said.
'We have the worst on-time performance on the city network since data started to be collected in 2019.
'One in six Sydney trains last year were late, and around one in three regional trains were late.
'This is a government that has failed to handle Sydney Trains. The Premier provides an apology but no plans to fix the trains. There's no timeline to get things fixed.'
Mr Speakman called on the government to explain which jobs would be cut and how that would impact the network.
When asked what he would 'do differently', Mr Speakman said he had 'a plan to get the trains running on time'.
'We have a program with clear timelines and a clear set of performance criteria to get, pardon the pun, the trains running back on track.
'What we'd be doing is having a clear plan with clear performance criteria, so you could mark whether you're making satisfactory progress.'
Opposition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward floated removing Mr Murray as Transport secretary.
The Rail, Tram, and Bus Union led the Combined Rail Unions through months of industrial action.
Earlier this month, they voted to approve a deal with the state government.
While the details of the pay agreement are not known, the opposition has accused Labor of providing the union with 'perks'.
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