CityRail commuters face another sweaty summer on non-air con trains

8 July 2010

Sydneysiders face another hot sweaty summer on CityRail’s 63 non-air conditioned trains with only four new air-conditioned Waratah trains to be in service by 31 March 2011, seven months late, according to a Freedom of Information request by NSW Business Chamber.

The Freedom on Information request revealed that the first Waratah train is now scheduled to be operating on the network by December 2010 with a further three operating by 31 March 2011, seven months later than originally scheduled.  The trains would replace only three non-air conditioned trains on the network with the fourth new Waratah train retained as a “replacement spare”.

Non-air conditioned trains operating on network over 2011 summer period:
	Today	30 November 2010	31 March 2011
3 – car trains	5	5	5
4 – car trains	3	3	3
6 – car trains	15	15	15
8 – car trains	40	40	37
Total	63	63	60

“CityRail’s fleet of ageing non-air conditioned carriages is a major disincentive for Sydneysiders to use public transport, especially during the hot summer months when temperatures in the carriages can reach upwards of 40 degrees,” said Stephen Cartwright, CEO of NSW Business Chamber.

“There are trains travelling during the peak hours that are experiencing “crush load” capacity which makes the commute to the workplace extremely uncomfortable and this is exacerbated by non-air conditioned carriages.

“There is an expectation in the community that the Government needs to be able to deliver not only a reliable, secure and affordable public transport system, but a comfortable one as well.

Mr Cartwright said that the NSW Department of Transport’s most recent Household Travel Survey confirmed that satisfaction with comfort on Sydney’s trains was rated lower (62%) than safety (90%), on-time running (86%) and even frequency (77%).[1]

“Business wants an attractive public transport system that encourages people to leave their cars at home and take pressure off the road network.  A good public transport system reduces road congestion and the cost of doing business in Sydney.”