Weary commuters may soon see an end to the rail mess as the NSW government gives in to union demands in an effort to stop additional interruptions.
On Wednesday, Transport Minister David Elliott revealed changes will be made to the $2.88 billion New Intercity Fleet to satisfy the union’s demands.
Despite being certified by the National Safety Regulator, members of the Rail, Tram, and Bus Union have refused to drive the trains because they believe they are unsafe.
The cost of the modifications is expected to cost taxpayers $264million with the major back-down marking a ceasefire in the two-year long dispute.
Mr. Elliott said he hoped the government’s act of goodwill would put a stop to further disruptions and strikes on the network due to intensify on Friday.
‘My expectation from the union, of course, is that they wind back their industrial action,’ the transport minister told reporters.
‘These negotiations and this expense is in the best interest of the communities.
‘Am I happy about spending millions of dollars to modify what the safety regulator has said [are] perfectly good trains? Absolutely not.
‘But the cost of this industrial action, the cost to the NSW economy, the inconvenience to the commuters has to be front of mind when it comes to running public transport.’
Mr Elliott said if the union agreed to the new deal that physical alterations to the fleet would begin in August, with trials expected within months.
However, Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Alex Claassens said the planned industrial action is still on the cards until members see the proposal in detail.
‘We are back to where we were a couple of months ago. The [new intercity fleet] is going to get fixed, but we are not out of the woods yet,’ he said.
‘We have been here before, and we want it all in writing.’
Senior government officials will be the subject of negotiations on Thursday night.
The union wants to prevent deductions from the salary of rail personnel for the cost of the changes.
Thomas Costa, assistant secretary of Unions NSW, mirrored Mr. Claassens’ position on the subject.
‘Once we see the details of their offer in writing, we’ll be talking with our members about what that means for further industrial action and whether we should withdraw it or continue it,’ he said.
‘While they’ve approved the modifications to the NIF, and we welcome that, the modifications should come at the government’s expense, not the expense of our workforce.’
The union claimed the fleet of trains didn’t allow for guards to stick their heads out to check if the train is safe to move, and that cameras on board are low quality and are obstructed by opening doors.
Train services are expected to be reduced to just 30 per cent in planned action on Thursday.
Treasurer Matt Kean had earlier blasted the union for wanting changes to be made.
‘Vandalism is bad enough on public transport without the unions taking a sledgehammer to a nearly $3 billion train fleet,’ the Treasurer said last month.
‘This demand to butcher a new modern fleet is beyond ridiculous. The union demand that we rip out the latest technology is unreasonable.’