Commuters are being warned to expect significant delays on the Sydney train network today due to industrial action. Transport for New South Wales is warning services are running at a reduced frequency across most train lines.
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00:00Impacts will be widespread, Dan, but as for how long these delays could run, they could
00:06go over the weekend and into next week.
00:09So why is this happening?
00:10Well, essentially, the Electrical Trades Union decided to cease some scheduled maintenance
00:15at Redfern and Central stations.
00:18These are both critical stations right in the heart of the Sydney CBD.
00:22And as a result, the delays are fairly widespread, as I mentioned earlier, impacting a range
00:27of train lines, particularly concerning, perhaps, is the airport line.
00:31Now, this line, obviously, really important for people who are transiting to the only
00:35major airport in Sydney to travel, perhaps, to other parts of the country or even overseas.
00:40So commuters are being warned to plan for these disruptions.
00:44They could be disruptions of about a quarter of an hour or longer in terms of each wait
00:48time because of these reduced services.
00:50I've got to say, interestingly, while there's plenty of disclaimers around Central station
00:54right here where I've been looking about disruptions, when I looked at the train boards,
00:58the wait times were fairly frequent, to be fair.
01:00They weren't too bad and certainly not as bad as we have seen in other instances where
01:05there has been different protection, protected, I should say, industrial action taken at trains
01:10across Sydney.
01:11Now, the broader context of this as well, Dan, that's worth noting is that Sydney trains
01:16have been heavily disrupted for other industrial action, too, and that was from the rail, tram
01:21and bus union who were locked in negotiations with the New South Wales government over a
01:25separate matter.
01:26Now, they've paused their actions for two weeks for negotiations with the state government.
01:30However, the electrical trades union negotiating for their workers have not paused their action
01:35and as such, these delays have come forward.
01:38For what it's worth, the electrical trades union say from the New South Wales government
01:42they want to see better pay conditions, particularly compared to field workers in other parts of
01:47the country, including Queensland, where disparities can be up to 50 per cent in wages
01:51as well as altered conditions and ensuring that all workers within New South Wales performing
01:56these duties for Sydney trains have minimum standards that are similar right across the
02:00industry.