SYDNEY TRAINS PACKED TO BURSTING POINT

MEDIA RELEASE |Thursday May 3, 2012

SYDNEY TRAINS PACKED TO BURSTING POINT

EVEN STANDING ROOM IS RUNNING OUT – NEW RAILCORP FIGURES SHOW

New figures reported today reveal overcrowding on the CityRail network has escalated out of control – with average patronage on peak hour trains increasing from 119 per cent to 123 per cent of capacity in the past 12 months.

Shadow Minister for Transport Penny Sharpe said this means Sydney morning train commuters – already stung by a 5.4 percent increase in fares this year – are less likely to get a seat and more likely to experience delays.

"The latest figures from Railcorp demonstrate what commuters already know – Sydney's trains are packed to bursting point," Shadow Transport Minister Penny Sharpe said today.

"Right across the network, passengers are literally crammed in like sardines.

"We know that at 135 per cent capacity, on time running is compromised because passengers can no longer get on and off the train when it pulls up to the station.

"The latest figures reveal trains on the Bankstown and Northern lines are packed at an astounding 150 percent capacity with next to no standing room. Illawarra and Western Line trains are at 130 percent capacity.

"We are fast reaching the point where there is no more aisle space in the mornings. Passengers are huddling up against each other – and being forced to grab onto any bit of railing they can.

"In March, the Bankstown line at one point hit the ceiling of 180 percent capacity. There were no seats and no more standing room – a simply intolerable situation.

"After 16 years in Opposition and more than a year as Premier, Mr O'Farrell still has no plan to address rail congestion in Sydney. Yet again we see another area where this do-nothing Government is failing to invest and allowing problems to escalate.

"The O'Farrell Government has already increased fares for commuters by up to $156 a year.

"Commuters will rightly be wondering – what's the point of paying more if we're going to be crammed onto a stressful, overcrowded service?

"Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian is treating CityRail like a magic pudding. She promises a new timetable three years into the term of the O'Farrell Government – yet has no plan to deal with capacity across the network.

"You just cannot tinker with the timetable without actually putting in more trains and more track.

"The Premier and the Transport Minister must be held to account for these figures. They are on notice – and if these shocking service capacity figures aren't better by September they will have unequivocally failed."