Questions to the Minister

Today, Transport for All NSW has sent the NSW Transport Minister, who is also the Minister for the Hunter Region, Gladys Berejiklian, an extraordinary list of questions but also concerns from long suffering wheelchair and disabled commuters.

These questions and concerns are based on feedback provided during various discussions but also forums in which disabled and wheelchair commuters have generally been the after thoughts when in comes to transport in this great city of ours. We here at TfANSW hope to have answers within the next few weeks, but given our previous response took about a month or so for a reply, we won't be holding our breathe just now.

So without further a-do, here is the list of questions we have placed to the Minister:

Dear Minister,

 

I would like to thank you for the extremely late response I got from my previous enquiry (ML14/07473) which seemed to have come from your secretary but yet again did not answer my questions.

 

So therefore I have a growing list of issues I would like to bring to your attention, but hopefully get an answer for and in some cases, an explanation as to why you have failed disabled commuters especially NSW TrainLink customers.

 

The issues I have so far from concerned wheelchair & disabled commuters are as follows:

 

Intercity Fleet/NSW TrainLink Questions/Issues

 

1) Why is the Government spending approximately from our sources $10-$20Millon on refurbishing the V Set (Intercity) fleet of 262 carriages of which only 4 to 8 carriages are wheelchair accessible (which is appealing I must say and does not meet DDA compliance) and are not considering on making the remaining carriages wheelchair accessible until the new intercity fleet arrives?

 

2) With the New Intercity Fleet of which you will be spending a total of $2.8Billon, Will be:

 

• Fully Wheelchair Accessible & meet DDA compliance?
• First Class if considered, will be available to wheelchair & Disabled Commuters & if so what would be the fare structure in this instance?
• Have on-board facilities such as a wheelchair accessible toilet & if a Café is available, its services can be accessed by disabled & wheelchair users alike without any hassles for both staff & these commuters?

 

3) With the truncation of the Newcastle line at Wickham in December this year, can you confirm why light rail will not be built at the same time as the truncation works, but a year later after the truncation and how Wheelchair & other disabled commuters will not be affected or further impacted or delayed by trying to interchange with what is already busy Newcastle Bus services?

 

4) Will the Minister also confirm that the new interchange at Wickham be fully wheelchair accessible, meet DDA compliance and not have either a gap or height issues which currently plague the current V Sets, Hunter railcars, Endeavour Railcars and OScar trains?

 

5) How will disabled or wheelchair commuters access light rail at the new Wickham interchange station, as the artists impression documents and pictures do not give a clear indication of:

 

• the location of accessible bus stops?
• the location of an accessible light rail stop?
• the location of accessible facilities such as toilets or change-rooms?
• the location of ticket machines or windows for assistance by staff?
• if platforms for both train & light rail will be 'gap free' meaning little or no gap at all along with no height differences requiring a ramp to be placed between the tram or train and the platform?

 

6) What new stations will be considered for an upgrade to become wheelchair accessible under the transport master-plan within the NSW TrainLink operations?

 

7) Can the Minister confirm or outline her & her depts. (TfNSW & NSW TrainLink/NSW Trains) have a plan to replace the current XPT train services with a new fleet and what the replacement fleet look like and be like for wheelchair disabled users?

 

8) if the Minister does have a replacement for the XPT, can she confirm if the new train fleet will be fully wheelchair accessible and on-board services be abled to be fully accessed by wheelchair commuters/customers?

 

Opal Card

 

9) Can you outline the EXACT timetable of when the Gold Opal Card, and how people with Centrelink benefits will be able to obtain these cards?

 

10) For people with disabilities who are not able to exactly 'tap on' and 'tap off', can you confirm if the TfNSW & Cubic Corporation Australia Pty Ltd are and will make available a card holder which will be placed on the wheelchair as such and that this holder will be free or will there be a cost?

 

11) Who is exactly exempted from obtaining a Opal Card and will therefore be entitled to free travel around the whole entire train, bus, ferry and light rail systems?

 

Trains (both Sydney Trains & NSW TrainLink)

 

12) What is TfNSW doing to reduce the gap and height differences between the train and the platform at Sydney Trains Stations for Wheelchair passengers?

 

13) Can the Minister confirm if the lifts at Wynyard will be replaced and the time frame for this to occur?

 

14) Can the minister confirm when the remainder of the lifts at Blacktown Station and the Interchanges will be replaced?

 

15) Will the lifts be replaced at the new Penrith Station and if so, the impact that will have on wheelchair users/commuters/customers and what the timetable will be?

 

17) Can the Minister confirm that Rooty Hill be in-fact be considered for an upgrade to become DDA compliant and be finally wheelchair accessible with either lifts or ramps and the if so, the timetable this will occur in?

 

Light Rail

 

18) In regards to the Inner-West Light Rail Extension (which we gladly thank you for delivering), can you please explain why someone in a wheelchair who wishes to travel from say, Marion Street to Dulwich Hill but then needs to change to the heavy rail at Dulwich Hill Interchange to continue on to say Bankstown or Liverpool or even Lidcombe, would be required to either travel to central then travel via train because of the lack of a simple lift at Dulwich Hill Sydney Trains Stations and why your dept & Government did not consider placing and upgrading the heavy rail station at Dulwich Hill whilst construction of the light rail extension was occurring?

 

19) Why is there a lack of an accessible bus route to take disabled passengers from Lewisham West station to the Wheelchair Accessible Sydney Trains Station at Summer Hill?

 

20) With the CBD & Eastern Suburbs light rail extension, can the minister confirm that platforms will be fully wheelchair accessible and that there will not be a gap, allowing wheelchair users to get on a tram without the need to call upon the guard or driver, potentially delaying services and causing hassles for wheelchair users

 

NWRL - SRT

 

21) With the NWRL, can the minister confirm that their will either be a guard or staff member either on board the trains or at stations that will be able to assist wheelchair & other disabled commuters to get on and off the train without hassle?

 

22) With the NWRL/SRT trains being driverless, can you confirm trains will NOT leave a station before and after a wheelchair user board or alights from the trains?

 

23) Will there be staff at stations to assist Wheelchair & other disabled commuters out at stations?

 

24) In relation to the tunnels and in deed the sky train of the NWRL, can the minister confirm that wheelchair users will be able to get out of the train and into an emergency exist should:

 

• the train suddenly stop or if there is a fire without the assistance of fire brigade staff; or
• Will there be staff aboard the train to assist evacuate wheelchair and other disabled commuters?
• What are the plans should such an event occur and will disabled/wheelchair commuters be made aware of the evacuation procedure (either via a PDF/Braille documents of YouTube Video) before operations commence for the NWRL?

 

25) Can the Minister confirm that wheelchair and other disabled commuters will not be impacted and be able to board already crowded T1 - Western, North Shore & Northern Line trains when the NWRL begins operations?

 

26) When the NWRL begins to take over the ECRL part of T1, what services will be in place and how will wheelchair and other disabled commuters access these services and how can the Minister confirm that there won't be either significant delays or hardships to disabled/wheelchair commuters alike?

 

27) will the replacement shuttle services (most likely buses in this instance) for the ECRL part of the T1 line be fully wheelchair accessible during the take over and reconstruction for the NWRL operations and the exact timeframes this will occur and be completed by?

 

Ferry Services

 

28) Can the minister confirm that the new Ferry fleet be fully wheelchair accessible and have on-board facilities catering to wheelchair users?

 

29) Can the Minister confirm what Wharves are due to be upgraded within the next 12 to 24 months and the time frame for these to occur and what services will be in place to allow wheelchair ferry commuters will not be impacted by these upgrades?

 

 

I understand these are a heck of a lot of questions, but given both the NWRL, Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink and TfNSW have not been able to answer these questions, it has fallen onto a coalition of disabled commuters via our membership base through Transport for All NSW to find out what the issues and questions are and try to obtain these answers for us disabled commuters.

 

We look forward to your response Minister.

 

As you can see, we had a total of 29 Questions and answers for which as stated above, we hope to have an answer for you all soon, but as stated and thanks to our own previous experience trying to obtain any sort of correspondence back took nearly over a month. So we won't be holding our breathe.

 

But We would like to open the floor to you all again, to tell us what your issues or concerns are. You can do that either via 2 ways, by commenting in the comments below, or visiting our Facebook Page and leaving your comments there.

Sydney Rapid Transit - our concerns

The NSW Liberal/National Government announced last week that they will be extending the currently under construction North-West Rail Link (NWRL) from the end of the line at Chatswood to the city and onwards to Bankstown.

Of course all this hinges on the Liberal?National government winning the general election next March with the mandate to lease 49% of the poles, wires and remaining electricity generators.

Now whilst we don’t want to call the result for the Election next year, because lets be honest here, even 24 hours can seem like a lifetime, but it would seem on this basis the Liberal/National Government will get back into office albeit with probably a minority.

But to get the to the nitty gritty, there are issues with this plan for the second harbour train tunnel because it would seem they have announced this without doing any ground work to see if the route is viable or not.

So what are the issues with this proposal? Well the issues namely relate to the new link taking in the existing Bankstown line and converting it to rapid transit. The issues are:

• between Redfern and Sydenham the Bankstown line utilises the East Hill line tracks which are used for express purposes. The issues namely relate to how this will effect the East Hills, South-west and Cambelltown/Macarthur line and whether the government is planning to build new track between Redfern & Sydenham to seperate the East Hills line Express services and the rapid transit lines. This would also have an impact on a number of properties between Sydenham and Erskineville, as they would have to be brought and demolished for this to occur.
• How will the Rapid Transit utilise the current Bankstown Line stations. 
• What modifications would need to be done to the stations to allow the trains to fit into the platforms given they are smaller than the current double decker rolling stock.
• How long would the Bankstown line be out of action for the conversion from heavy rail to rapid transit
•  When is the upgrades due to occur and how lone will it take in total
• Would the Government need to build a bigger interchange station at Bankstown to allow people to interchange between the rapid transit line to the heavy rail suburban Sydney Trains service?
• With the new stations to be built in the city, how will the interchange be possible between the current Town Hall Station and the to be built Pitt St Station, being they will be on top of one another (according to the fact sheets released by the Government).
• Would the rapid transit be extended to Hurstville like it was originally planned to do so?

Of course these concerns are on top of the current issues surrounding how people with disabilities or requiring assistance will be able to get aboard the rapid transit trains being they will be driverless and not have any guards on board. It is also believed that there will be little if not no Public Service Attendant (also known as station staff) at stations according to various reports also released by the current incumbent government.

We have sought comment for these issues but are yet to receive any word back.

The Carlingford Line - what to do with a line that goes and connects to nowhere....yet

The Carlingford line seems to be one of the many forgotten rail lines which have become a very old, outdated and somewhat disjointed and unconnected part of the Sydney Trains metropolitan network, yet the NSW Government nor Transport for NSW or the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian know what to do with it.


The poor Carlingford line in the only suburban rail line which in my own opinion, that is not connected via a fully accessible interchange at Clyde. Now before you start having a go at me, stating that Sydney Trains and Transport for NSW have classified the station as accessible, its really not.


Clyde is serviced by a stair walker which over the years has been more broken and out of service that more so actually in services. At one point that I am aware, there was a Union ban on using this critical piece of technology for wheelchair users, yet it is still there, but only available during certain hours (namely in the peak periods) for which after that time, Wheelchair users are required to either travel to Granville or Parramatta to travel towards Carlingford.


To me whilst the bus option is the much more safer than actually trying to attempt to use the stair walker at Clyde, it certainly goes a long way to prove the Carlingford line and Clyde for that matter is  certainly biding its time to closure.


So what should we do to fix the option?


This idea I have fought long and hard on, and have spoken to many both involved with sensitive talks with stakeholders (such as Parramatta City Council and the NSW State Government along with Transport for NSW) for the possibility of the Carlingford line to be converted to a light rail system, that will ultimately connect to Westmead hospital precincts (Such as the Adults, Kids & Private hospitals) to Macquarie University and maybe even onwards towards Lane Cove, to provide this suburbs with a more connected piece of critical public transport infrastructure than what they currently have.


Why not have single metro style trains on the Carlingford Line?


Lets be honest here, this idea which has been circulating thanks to a few MP's who seem hell bent against light rail, think the only option is to turn the line into a metro 3 car system, however the dilemma is that how would this link into the current Sydney Trains Metro network?


Can a metro style train service use the same piece of infrastructure as the current double deck network is offering? Hell no!!


A single deck 3 car metro style network would offer no greater benefits and ultimately lead to further segregation of the line and its commuters, leading to further frustrations for not only commuters but transport planers alike.


Why not convert the line into a rapid bus line?


This option again would only create further gridlock and would take a lot longer to actually plan and build. The cost of converting it to this type of system would also cost more as more would have to be done for the conversion. Buses are already clogging up areas within Westmead, Parramatta, Carlingford and Macquarie University precinct.


Why convert to light rail then?


This answer is actually quite simple, as it would take far less time to convert,  the current trams that the NSW Government is considering retiring from next year onwards would be used to gap fill until new rolling stock can be brought, Frequency of service could jump unto every 10-15 mins in the peak and in the off peak every half hour instead of the current hourly services provided by heavy rail (aka Sydney Trains).


It would also offer an opportunity to make Clyde wheelchair accessible whilst also plan for the network to expand to Westmead and Macquarie University precinct or Lane Cove and even continue further expansion of this network towards Bankstown in areas currently underserved by bus services which have been cut or frequency dropped from previous levels.


It would also offer a more accessible service for people with disabilities using wheelchair or walking frames, stick or crutches, the elderly or families with prams.


The majority of the light rail stops can be built either where the current existing Carlingford Line stations are or next to them with most actually at street level requiring no lifts or major ramp constructions.


To me this makes a more sensible plan and help builds growth for patronage and expansion as well as improve public transport connections not only for the community as a whole but a more accessible transport option for people with disabilities without having any major hassles or drama's which they currently face to this day.


But I would like to get your feedback or suggestions on converting the Carlingford Line to Light Rail? Do you think it is a sensible and though out process and idea to carry through with or would you consider another option or stay with the current incumbent form of transport. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.