23-07-2025
Nearly one in five NSW trains ran late in past year, falling well short of own performance target, data shows
Sydney Trains have hit a new low for on-time services with only 82.5% of trains arriving within five or six minutes of scheduled times over the last year.
The result, based on data in the year to 30 June, represents a significant slide in performance from the previous year, when 87.9% of trains ran on time.
The New South Wales government aims for 92% on-time running, with punctuality defined as running within five minutes of scheduled times for suburban trains within the Sydney metropolitan area and six minutes for intercity trains.
'Whilst Sydney Trains did not reach its own 92% performance target over the past three years in part due to protected industrial action during this period and severe weather events, on-time running in 2022 was 92.1%, 95% in 2021 and 92.5% in 2020,' a spokesperson for Sydney Trains told the Guardian.
'On-time running or punctuality can also be impacted by other unforeseen factors, including fatalities, sick passengers, trespassers, police operations, and maintenance requirements,' the spokesperson said.
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The transport minister, John Graham, said: 'Settling the rail agreement means all energy can now be focused on reliability. We have got that message loud and clear.'
Punctuality was particularly bad for intercity trains, which include the Newcastle and the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, South Coast and Southern Highlands (Goulburn) lines. Only 70.5% of those trains recorded on-time running.
Sydney CBD trains did better, with 84% arriving on time.
For the Blue Mountains, the last financial year was the worst on record, with just 69% of services running on time.
For the Central Coast, it was also the worst on record, with just 68.7% of services running on time. There are no signs of improvement on either line in the first weeks of July, according to data.
The Southern Highlands line is showing signs of improvement but off a very low base of only 60% on-time running.
Protracted negotiations with the Rail Tram and Bus union over a new enterprise agreement, which resulted in strikes and work bans, affected the network during the period.
Sydney, the Central Coast and the Illawarra were also hit by torrential rain on several occasions including in January, May and June.
The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, accused Labor MPs in the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and South Coast of being 'nowhere to be seen' on the deterioration in service.
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'Chris Minns, John Graham and every Labor MP in these areas should ride the trains their communities are forced to suffer,' he said.
'If they did, they'd see the delays, the breakdowns, the frustration – and they'd know just how badly they've failed. The truth is Labor thinks they can take these seats for granted.'
In response, Graham said 'it was a much simpler task for government running a train network when it was also asking the population to stay behind a locked front door during the pandemic.
'The Liberals understand the challenge because under them on-time running fell to an all-time low of 71% in one month in 2022 and the 92% target was missed in 10 of their last 12 months in office,' he said.
Sydney Trains said it had introduced several initiatives to increase reliability of services and enable the network to recover faster from disruptions, such as an adjusted timetable in October 2024 that saw some stations receive increased service frequencies, a new intercity fleet on some lines and a train repair plan.
The poor train results come as the state government announced it was shedding 950 jobs from the department, Transport for NSW. It is believed the cuts are not to front line jobs.
