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Delays to Southwest Metro will cost taxpayers $3.6 million a day until resolution with Rail union, Minister says

The construction of Sydney’s Southwest Metro train line will be delayed after the union and government could not reach a bargaining agreement, costing taxpayers $3.6 million a day until it’s resolved.
The conversion of the T3 Bankstown train line was meant to start next Saturday, but the government won’t be able to shut the service down to start the project unless an agreement is reached with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU).
Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said Sydney Trains was unable to shut down the T3 Bankstown line without the help of the union.

”Conversion of the T3 is a multi-stage process, it does involve shutting off multiple points on the T3 and we’re working on both the engineering requirements and the industrial requirements,” he said.
“We need the union’s assistance to make that happen – we are at this injunction and we will have to work through that point.”
Delays cost taxpayers $3.6 million per day

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said if the line did not shut, delays would cost taxpayers an estimated $100 million per month, or roughly $3.6 million a day.
There are 200 bus drivers and 100 replacement buses ready to take over the Bankstown service to Sydenham, but they’ll be waiting idly on standby if the train line doesn’t close next Saturday, she said.
“We’ve been in long conversations with the transport union for some days now … unfortunately we have been unable to reach an agreement,” Haylen said.
“I thought we had come a very long way, I thought we were very close … [but] there were some demands we could not agree to.”

Those demands from the union included a Sydney Trains driver on every driverless metro service, which Haylen said wasn’t possible.
“I need those Sydney Trains drivers for the Sydney Trains network,” Haylen said.
There were also demands not relating to the Metro that they couldn’t agree to, the minister said.
Despite the looming delays, Haylen said the government was committed as ever to delivering the Southwest Metro to Bankstown and the surrounding communities.
“This is a project that has been around for a very long time, the taxpayer has already committed billions of tax dollars to it,” she said.
“We want to deliver it and we are committed.”

Union says they’ll end all industrial action for 50c fares
The union said in a statement this afternoon it would end all industrial action if the NSW government agreed to lowering the cost of public transport to 50-cent fares, as Queensland has done.
It also said it held concerns the conversion of the old rail line would be unsafe for commuters.
“Rail workers are the frontline of defence when it comes to protecting our transport systems, and all actions are about ensuring the future safety and reliability of services for commuters.
“Our protected action came with a caveat to the NSW government – if they can set 50-cent fares for commuters, we stop our industrial action.
“That option is a win for commuters and a win for the government.
“It’s now up to the premier and transport minister to decide if they want to help commuters during a cost-of-living crisis or to continue the legacy of the former Coalition government in taking our state’s transport system backwards.”

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