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.

Western Sydney Light Rail - where should it be built

A couple of weeks ago, the Liberal/National State Government announced their 4th and final budget before next years state election, and whilst many commentators have stated that the budget was basically an election pitch due to this reason. However there was some good points and some points that we were very confused about.

The thing we were confused about here at TfANSW was the $400 million provision to help identify the route which the State Government will build its second light rail link, knowing that such a line will start and terminate within the Parramatta CBD, Sydney's second biggest city within the metropolitan area.

However most of this was done by Parramatta City Council who did a review which was published and released for comment as part of their wider transport and building initiatives and the two routes that the council have identified within their own reports, which in turn has been put as a formal and informal proposal to the State Government and Transport for NSW.

The two routes which Parramatta City Council have made preference are:

• Parramatta to Macquarie Park via Eastwood 
• Parramatta to Castle Hill via Windsor Road 

However the State Government has also selected an additional 8 routes in which the light rail line could also be built within the area. These additional routes include:

• Parramatta to Macquarie Park via Carlingford
• Parramatta to Castle Hill via Old Northern Road
• Parramatta to Liverpool via the T-way
• Parramatta to Bankstown
• Parramatta to Sydney Olympic Park
• Parramatta to Rouse Hill
• Parramatta to Ryde via Victoria Road
• Parramatta to Sydney CBD via Parramatta Road

Now what is even more surprising is that the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, has stated to the press and via the press release that Light Rail within the Parramatta CBD area will be built before their own report and consultation is complete for a preferred route.

What baffles us is that why would such a report cost $400Million to find out which route to build the light rail when most of the ground work is done.

That said, it got us thinking, which route should this Light Rail network be built on? Surely going with the Parramatta City Council proposed routes would be a good start, but what about in future as well? Where could such extensions on the light rail network be built in future?

Here is what we think:

Convert the existing three T Way networks 

Converting the three existing T-Way Networks which run from Parramatta to Liverpool, Parramatta to Rouse Hill via Westmead and Parramatta to Blacktown, to light rail would be far more beneficial for commuters, given that Buses cannot carry as many as a LRV (Light Rail Vehicle) could. 

Honestly converting these existing infrastructure would mean only track, sleepers, overhead wiring and poles along with signals would be required and would mean stations wouldn't have to be built as existing bus stops will be utilised.

There would also provide faster and more convenient connections, freeing up the private buses that run on these networks to other routes and in turn hopefully providing more bus routes for the private operators to run.

Convert the Carlingford line to Light Rail, extending to Parramatta & Westmead Health Precinct

This might sound far fetched, but converting the current heavy rail branch line known as the Carlingford Line, which is served by 1 train in each direction every half to 1 hour would provide more capacity to serve commuters who have long been forgotten about.

Converting the Carlingford line make sense, as it would also remove the last major level crossing and pinch point within the road network along Parramatta Road. 

There is great potential for further expansion if this occurs. For example, linking the line to either go to Clyde and possible works its way down to Olympic park could be a future expansion of this network. You could also do a future possible extension of the network towards Macquarie Park and even possibly connecting up to a converted T-Way which would then become part of again future expansion of the network.

Linking this up to Westmead health precinct (i.e: Westmead Hospital, Westmead Private, The Children's Hospital at Westmead & Cumberland Hospital) would also make sense given most express services no longer stop at Westmead and instead their next stop after Blacktown will be Parramatta if heading into the city, or from the city would be Blacktown after Parramatta. This sort of extension would provide an additional boost for commuters and replace the current incumbent services from Hillsbus/Transit Systems Australia.

Connect up to the City via the Light Rail extension down Parramatta Road

What would be beneficial for Western Sydney and indeed Inner-western commuters would be if the Parramatta Light Rail Network linked up towards the soon to be built Sydney CBD light Rail Network via a route down Parramatta Road once the West Connex is built of course.

This would again boost and enhance transport options for all residents but also allow for buses to be re-directed to other routes or possible allow for new routes to be developed. It would also take out the frustrations of Bus commuters who take the bus via Parramatta road and find that they end up staying in a car park due to traffic congestion.

Conclusion 

Of course this is just some of the ideas we would like to put forward for possible routes for such a Western Sydney Light Rail Network should be built, but we would like to get your thoughts or suggestions? Do you think one of the above routes should be selected for the LRV network to be built? Do you have another route or suggestions or idea? We would like to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Links

Here is the press release from the Transport Ministers office regarding the WSLRN (Western Sydney Light Rail Network).

Western Sydney Light Rail report - Parramatta City Council

Busways - the bus company we love to hate

Last week there were 2 incidents involving Busways, the bus company that is contracted with the NSW Government to run bus services within the Region 1 area - namely between Richmond, Hawkesbury Valley, Penrith, Mt Duritt and Blacktown are including parts of the Hills are along with the Central Coast and North Coast of NSW.

The two incidents, of which one involved a fellow cyclist to be ran over, dragged and ultimately dying later in hospital due to the injuries sustained, has lead to a blitz which was undertaken by RMS inspectors and the police.

With this blitz, between 8 to 18 buses were found to have various mechanical issues, namely brake, steering and general mechanical issues which the company have since stated have all been addressed and fixed, but there have been concerns over Busways and other bus companies given the extremely tight and unacceptable bus timetables.

But this certainly isn’t the first time Busways has been in trouble. The bus company was found back in in the early 2000’s, when its drivers along with CDC’s Westbus/Hillsbus caught speeding in and out of the tunnel and there were calls at the time to have speeding cameras installed. 

Busways has also been citicised by fellow commuters and government officials for the lack of services it provides to the community, given that most buses are still not wheelchair accessible, nor  frequent services, given that most either run extremely late or are cancelled with little or no notice.

So why is it that a bus company with such a poor reputation continue to operate under an expanded region 1 contract in western Sydney? This question  makes us wonder if Gladys actually listens to the community or just rather hand out to contracts to incumbents who honestly put both staff and commuters safety at risk everyday.

My response would be for the incumbent transport minister, Gladys Berejiklian, to come out and try using all these services to see how bad Busways have become and explain why she has allowed for commuters lives to be put at risk because of her undeliverable transport improvements.

Of course we know this won’t happen, but still worth a wish

***UPDATE****

We wish to also point out that buses owned prior to 2007 are owned by the company, however ownership can be spun out to the government as part of an ownership structure change. This is outlined by the region contract terms and conditions. However Busways can request more accessible buses under the contract to help sure up timtetable.

Our main point of this story is that one company should be allowed to operate such a huge area given the issues outlined above. Two bus companies should be operating to ensure competition but also provide better services.

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.

Gladys Berekjilian announces new intercity train set. So here are our concerns

Gladys Berejiklian announces the new trains with the NSW Premier, Mike Baird & NSW TrainLink Manager Rob Mason. Photo: Fairfax Media

The Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, yesterday announced that NSW TrainLink will be getting 520 new intercity carriages to replace the ageing V set intercity sets that are reaching their life expectance/service period.

Aunty Gladys has stated that these new carriages will be from existing “on the shelf” trains that could be potentially built overseas and not in Australia. The one issue I would like to point out that whilst that would mean that it could be built much more cheaply overseas, the problem is that with the current A Set or Waratah train sets, they have had many defaults which have required fixing and in some cases where work completed on the frames of these train sets had to be fixed via complete replacement of areas to ensure that they complied with state and federal building and safety regulations.

So it begs the question, why would we consider having off the shelf trains built overseas where they could possibly not meet manufacturing, building and safety regulations and laws and then possibly having rectification work completed at an additional cost after they have been brought here?

This to me sounds like a major oversight, but then again when we are dealing with Queen of all that is stupid, Gladys Berejiklian, it doesn’t honestly surprise me sadly.

However there are more unanswered questions regarding this new procurement of the train sets, with the main being are people with disabilities and their relevant organisations get any word or at east some consultation on what we know is needed to ensure that these train sets meet specifications and disabled customer requirements.

Its one thing to just add wheelchair spots, add automatic voice announcements and have passenger information displays, but there is more that would need to be taken into consideration, such as:

• Would the train sets be step free and be equal with all platforms?
• Will the guard be at the end of the train sets and if so, how many carriages would form each complete train set (4, 6 or 8)?
• Will the train sets be single deck or double deck?
• Will confirmation of wheelchair accessible disabled toilet be included?
• How many disabled spots be in each complete train set?

What is even more ludicrous is the consideration by the transport minister to have 1st class areas/seating on the train sets which would replicate what train companies offer in the UK, however to me it just sounds like an additional source of revenue and excuse to charge customers more for just priority seating which would be made from the same materials as “economy” or the “everyday” seats which are found throughout the remainder of the train set.

I would like to point out at this stage that I despise this idea of a 1st class system as I can see big problems with this system causing further frustration and issues for NSW TrainLink staff both on board the train sets but also the stations. I also find this system as a way of ensuring Aunty Gladys gets a place to call her own and not be in the muck of the everyday commuter she claims she works for.

Basically in a nutshell, whilst I applaud Gladys on announcing the plan to procure new intercity train sets and move the Oscar trains into the Sydney Trains fleet, but if I am being honest, this is something Gladys could have announced 2 years ago or even last year when she split RailCorp into their current iterations - Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink.

It would also be a timely reminder that this comes upon the new premier being put into office but also because we are in election mode, with the NSW State Government elections due between August this year and March next year.

We can hope that this process is expedited but proper consultation occurs with all relevant stakeholders but also with the relevant commuters who will use the new train sets like us disabled commuters to ensure our voice is heard.

You can watch the video of the announcement here.

Transport Minister announces $100 million refurb of Wynyard Station - However no plans to replace the lifts just yet

The transport minister, Gladys Berejiklian, has announced on Monday that Wynyard station is set to receive a $100 million refurbishment to make it more friendly, inviting and open to passengers whilst bringing it into the 21st century.

Whilst this is a welcomed start to bring Wynyard station finally into this century, there is one issue on this plan and that is a simple one - what about the hydraulic lifts? Are they going to be replaced?

It would seem that the refurbishment will only include the following:

• new lighting

• new tiling

• overhaul of the retail outlets

• fresh coat of paint

• new signage to help customers move around the station easier

• reduce clutter on the platforms

Now whilst we do welcome this refurbishment, we are left wondering why the lifts, which are now well beyond the operational lift and in constant need of repair and are also constantly breaking down.

Now whilst the lifts at Town Hall have been replaced and new lifts are being built at Circular Quay and in the not to distant future at Museum, it would be worth to point out that these lifts should be considered for replacement under this program to ensure their operational life can be assured but also to provide a much more stable accessible piece of infrastructure that is in high demand given that Sydney's CBD is getting even more busy day in and day out.

It would also ensure disabled people can be assured that if they travel on the train, they know they can get off at Wynyard without having to either somehow go back to Town Hall and wheel or walk back to their office building nearby to Wynyard Station.

However, like everything so far that the current transport minister and her office, Transport for NSW have announced, we certainly won't be holding out breathe waiting for Wynyards lifts to be replaced.

Do you think the lifts at Wynyard should be included in the $100million refurb package? we would like to hear your thoughts below

Inner West Light Rail now open but no Lift interchange at Sydney Trains stations in Dulwich Hill & Lewisham

Last Thursday, the light rail extension from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill opened to the public which much fan fair, however there are still two issues which the current NSW Liberal/National Government along with Transport for All haven't planned to fix prior to the opening for people with disabilities.

The two issues are namely based around the following:

1) lack of the lift availability at Dulwhich Hill and Lewisham heavy rail (Sydney Trains) stations
2) Lack of local accessible bus availability for customer to change at Lewisham West to either Lewisham or Stanmore heavy rail stations.

These issues whilst seeming somewhat unimportant for most commuters and a minor oversight as transport specialists have stated, they are in fact quite huge transport blackspots which the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian cannot blame on anyone else other than herself.

The lack of accessible transport interchange options, such as a lift at Dulwich Hill heavy rail station to say the least is quite the oversight. For example, someone requiring wheelchair accessibility from Lilyfield to say Bankstown, would have to change at Dulwich Hill onto the 412 bus to Campsie Station, then change for heavy rail at Campsie to Bankstown. This would add an additional 45-55mins travel on top of the ordinary travel time which is quite unfair and would be seen as discriminatory.

For Lewisham West, the lack of an accessible bus close to station which could enable travel and an accessible interchange capabilities to Stanmore heavy rail (which is wheelchair accessible) or the option to have Lewisham heavy rail station to become wheelchair accessible as well, with a connecting accessible local bus is again a major oversight.

"The option of not providing accessible interchange options at either Dulwhich Hill or Lewisham/Stanmore is quite disturbing and it shows that when it comes to accessible transport options, the current NSW Liberal/National Government are all talk but when push comes to shove, they don't seem to care about accessible transport" Alex Dennis - Transport for All NSW chairman stated.

"The Transport Minister has no one else than herself to blame for this two major oversights, after she delayed construction until 2012 - a year after the Liberal/National Government came into power and provided undertook additional detailed construction planning which would have identified these two issues should have been rectified and steps put in place to address these issues" Mr Dennis continued to state.

Transport for All NSW has sought comment from the Transport Minister and Transport for NSW as to what they plan to do to rectify this two issues, but we are yet to hear anything back from either party.

In the meantime Mr Dennis has suggested that the public speak to their local Liberal/National Minister and also undertake complaints with Transport for NSW as well.