Delays and cancellations have left Sydney commuters high and dry many waiting to travel to one of Sydney’s biggest Christmas and New Year celebrations. 40% of Sydney’s train network faced disruptions today, resulting in wait times of up to 90 minutes. Planned industrial action limited services, but the train union says it is also due to the trackwork.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00It's one of Sydney's biggest Christmas events, carols in the domain, but getting there hasn't
00:09been a jolly time.
00:11Pretty much half the trains were cancelled, so it's about an hour or so wait for the next
00:15one.
00:16But the trains are full because half the service appears to be cancelled.
00:19It wasn't great, there was multiple cancellations, hour and a half wait.
00:24More than 360 services were either cancelled or delayed today, leaving commuters waiting
00:30at stations for up to 90 minutes.
00:33I was supposed to go on a spa day today, which was really nice, but I ended up being 30 minutes
00:38late because there were no trains.
00:39The actions by the rail unions are having a significant and real impact on people and
00:47on businesses.
00:48Especially businesses like Bobby's Cafe, a family-run shop just outside Newtown station.
00:54That's the first door they're going to see, so it's so good for them to even just do a
00:58takeaway coffee.
01:00And when there's cancellation or delays, you don't get that as much foot traffic, right?
01:04Not at all, because we are inside a train station area, we might have to reduce our
01:09working hour and even reduce our staff to just maintain our profit or loss.
01:15The government claims it's made a series of offers to the union, but says their demands
01:20are unaffordable.
01:218% each year, 32% over four years is unfortunately unaffordable, and we cannot bankrupt the state
01:31here.
01:32The rail, tram and bus union didn't front on camera today, but said in a statement it
01:37refutes the government's claims of rejecting substantial offers.
01:42It says track work was a factor in today's disruptions.
01:46If city transport can't be insured, the New Year's Eve fireworks could also be cancelled.
01:52Many hospitality outlets and venues have a lot riding on New Year's Eve celebrations
01:57as well, so those investments have already been made, whether it's in stock or staff.
02:04Transport chaos, threatening to derail the festive spirit.