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What you need to know Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of Sydney’s train disruptions.
Every train line across Sydney faces significant delays and multiple cancellations as the Combined Rail Unions reinstate 10 key work bans.
Here’s everything you need to know this morning:
Every line is impacted by cancellations and delays, with wait times of up to 48 minutes at some stations. The T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line appears to be experiencing the worst impacts. More than 1000 services will be cancelled across the network by the end of the day. Metro and light rail services are unaffected. The delays and cancellations are caused by renewed work bans in place by the Combined Rail Union. Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said a refusal by the Electrical Trades Union to carry out maintenance overnight was causing the worst of the delays. Some rail replacement buses are being organised, however, Transport for NSW has asked commuters to avoid travel and stay at home if possible. The government has offered the unions a 13 per cent pay rise, plus an extra 1 per cent from cost savings and an extra 1 per cent in super, over four years. The unions were given a Thursday deadline to give their response. Latest posts 7.08pm
Passenger opts to stay at CBD hotel rather than face journey home By Frances Howe Matt Wade, 41, was fed up after waiting 90 minutes for his train to Katoomba to leave the platform at Central Station.
Passengers on the 5.11pm service to Mount Victoria waited for 70 minutes before being told their train did not have a driver.
Then a voice over the intercom apologised, “I’m very sorry for the delays.”
“I’m not 100 per cent certain when the driver will arrive… I’ve just been told by the station staff that he is stuck on a train between Strathfield and Central.”
Glum commuters wait aboard a train parked at Chatswood Station. Credit: Steven Siewert
One passenger was overheard saying, “That’s the first time I’ve heard an apology”.
20 minutes later, the driver walked up the platform and Wade, a lawyer, sought his own answers.
He was told the train wasn’t going to leave for another 15 to 30 minutes and that when it did, it would travel at its slowest speed until at least
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