1992: Cityrail's controversial timetable

Source: Cityrail. 1991. "The times they are a changin'." (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 17: 22. 

 

Source: Nance, J. 1992. "Rail commuters rattled". The Sunday Telegraph, January 12: 16.

Any change to public transport timetables in Sydney will always incur at least some criticism or controversy. It may affect one line or route or the entire network.

Given that trains are our more patronised mode of public transport in Sydney, any changes to timetables will impact more commuters than buses and ferries, and hence receive more attention. Changes to train timetables often flow onto bus timetables where bus routes connect with rail services.

You may remember the changes from a particular year, because they may have impacted you directly.

In 1992, I was seven years of age and being a child did not have to rely on trains to get around, but Cityrail made changes to its timetables, which at the time were controversial. This entry provides an overview of why.

Why a new timetable?

In 1991, the NSW Government decided to retire the red rattler trains due to safety concerns associated with open doors in their carriages, which was to be completed in 1993. Most of the remaining carriages were retired in January 1992 and were to be confined to the Bankstown and Inner West lines until their final withdrawal the following year. 

Meanwhile, Tangara carriages (known as T set) were still being rolled out across the network following their introduction in 1988 and continued to be rolled out to suburban lines until 1994, with the outer suburban G set version rolled out in 1994 and 1995.

Also, Cityrail sought to increase services to outer suburban stations. 

What were the changes?

• Reduced off-peak services
• Longer wait times for connections with other lines
• An additional 2500 seats were made available for commuters during peak hours.
• Reductions in peak-hour services on the Bankstown, North Shore and Western Lines
• Additional services from Campbelltown to the Sydney CBD.
• Reductions in services on the Illawarra Line.

Why the controversy?

As mentioned, services were reduced, longer connection times and reduced services on lines impacted workers, especially those who travelled in shoulder or off-peak periods.

For the majority of commuters, they were inconvenienced, whether it meant having to change trains, longer dwell (waiting times) or having to alter their travel times. Delays and cancellations also added to the difficulties experienced.

Despite an additional 2500 seats added to existing peak-hour trains, reduced service frequencies meant that trains were more crowded. Below are clippings from a special feature that was published in The Sydney Morning Herald on February 7, 1992 (page 4).

Transport advocacy group Action for Public Transport called for the restructuring of some lines to improve efficiency and hence capacity, such as the Bankstown Line and better turnarounds at Berowra.

Source: Anon. "Train service 'a mess'". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, January 22: 20.  

The State Government was forced to act, altering timetables. The first round of changes was "small".  Cityrail claimed to have received 26,000 calls, with many supporting the new timetable, especially the replacement of red rattler trains with modern carriages. Shadow Transport Minister Brian Langton (ALP, Kogarah) called for the timetable to be axed while the ALP had received thousands of complaints via a special hotline that they set up. Mr Langton himself was a rail commuter and saw firsthand for himself the impact it was having on his travels and those of his fellow constituents. 

Source: Jones, S. 1992. "New review of Cityrail timetables". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, February 8:11. 

Later that month, a further 100 changes to the timetable were to be implemented over the following months. Some services would receive extra carriages, while some services would be altered to either have more stops or fewer stops.

   

Source: McLean, S. "More tail changes to help commuters". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, February 24: 18. 

Additional Reading

Action for Transport (N.S.W.). 1992.  "New Cityrail timetable," Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Media Release Newsletter, no 1 (February 1992), https://www.aptnsw.org.au/newsletters/19921.html