Major changes to train timetables in Sydney and the Illawarra have been scrapped less than a month before they were due to begin after a backlash from commuters.
The state government last week announced more frequent services along the T4, T8 and South Coast lines, but some trips were expected to take longer.
In a backflip, Premier Chris Minns on Saturday said the changes due to take effect on November 15 would no longer go ahead after it had become clear “the vast majority of people do not want this new timetable”.
“The truth of the matter is, since we released the train timetable I haven’t run into anybody who supported the change,” Mr Minns said.
He apologised to commuters for “putting them out”.
“I’d rather apologise and backflip on a policy like this than implement a change that people don’t want.
“I want the public to know that they’ve got a government that will listen to them, and also say when we get it wrong, ‘We get it wrong’.”
Chris Minns says the government has listened to commuters. (ABC News)
The proposed changes raised concerns from passengers and MPs from both sides of politics.
Mr Minns said some of his MPs “were into us big time, and saying ‘This has got to change’.”
The proposed timetable was designed to deliver more frequent services and additional capacity across southern Sydney and the South Coast.
Transport Minister John Graham last week described the reliability of the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line as a “real issue”.
He said the timetable changes and the addition of 200 more services a week would deliver shorter wait times.
Frequency on the T4 was expected to increase from a train every 10 minutes to one every 7.5 minutes during peak times.
Commuters have opposed the timetable changes. (ABC News: Berge Breiland)
“I want to make it clear that we will not be pursuing timetable changes unless, and until, reliability returns particularly to the T4 transport line,” he said.
“There are still too many signal failures, breaks in the rail and major disruptions and we need to make sure that that is a reliable public transport option.”
Sydney Airport sore point
One sore point was fewer direct trips to Sydney Airport for passengers travelling from Wollongong because of the planned bypass of Wolli Creek.
The loss of the stop would mean changing at Sutherland or Hurstville, then again at Wolli Creek, or travelling into Central and catching an airport train back south.
A key part of the plan was the untangling of the Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line, and the South Coast Line to reduce bottlenecks and improve reliability.
The lines currently share a stretch of track, meaning a problem at Bondi Junction can cause delays on the South Coast.
The T8 would not longer have stopped at Sydenham, meaning an extra change to get on the Metro for travellers coming from south-western suburbs.
They would also have lost direct access to St Peters, Erskineville and Redfern stations at peak times.
The Member for Oatley, Mark Coure, released a political attack add against the changes. (Supplied)
The lines run through the electorate of Oatley, which Labor is hoping to seize from Liberal Mark Coure, who holds it by a wafer margin of 0.8 per cent.
Mr Coure seized on the changes in an attack ad that claimed Labor was delivering slower trips and creating an extra delay of 14 minutes.
“The public anger and pressure has been huge on Labor,” Mr Coure told the ABC.
“This is a political backflip that would not have happened if the community had not called it out.”