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.

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.

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

Gladys Berejiklian - possibly the worst transport minister NSW has ever had or seen

Ok let be honest here, I am not a huge fan of Gladys Berejiklian, in fact I would go as far to say that I despise her simply for the fact she honestly lies and tends to think she is the best thing since sliced bread. In fact I have been known to even call her old Aunty Gladys, Gladys the wicked witch of NSW and ever Gladys Berejerklian or Gladys Itsaberejerliating.

But why would I declare her as the worst transport minister has ever had comes down to a few things that I have obeserved and seen, but also based her lack of consultation process and the way she talks down to us mere commoners, as she seems to think.

These are just some of the reasons why I believe Gladys is the worst transport minister:

1) lies, lies and more lies 

Gladys has touted a number of projects were done by her Government and whilst yes they did ensure they were delivered during her stewardship but they certainly weren't either announced nor started under her control. These projects include:

• The inner west light rail - started and announced under NSW Labor. Delayed for 6 months before re commencement under Liberal/National Government
• South West Rail Link - announced and started under Labor. Somewhat finalized but not opened under the Liberal/National Government 
• Rail clear ways program - started and most projects completed under Labor
• Waratah train project - announced, started and somewhat delivered under Labor but saved and completed under Liberal/National Government

As you can see, most of the top big projects in the last 4 years were either announced with part of the work either started or done under the previous labor government.

2) North West Rail Link - an expensive rail shuttle to nowhere

This has to be the most and quite honestly biggest broken promise provided.

Why? That's simple. The NWRL does not intergrate nor will it ever with the current Sydney rail network. It has become a shuttle service that will push more people to already overcrowded existing Sydney trains services on the North Shore whilst causing crush points in the existing network, namely on the western line as existing ECRL (Epping to Chatswood Rail Line) trains will be forced to use the Nother Shore line which is at over capacity per trains per hour.

Why the NWRL is so bad is because the trains will be smaller in height but also driverless which means there would be no one around to help disabled passengers on or off the train or during an emergency during the train journey.

Also the tunnels are so small in design, the do not allow any safety ramps to be installed along side the rails within the tunnels which the ECRL has in case of an emergency. This also worries me because it would mean in the event of a fire, anyone in a wheelchair met end up loosing their life because they can't get off the train and they would remain stranded.

The other issue is that the NWRL does not go into the city, instead to terminates at Chatswood forcing more people into already overcrowded train services during the peak periods

3) Excuses, excuses, excuses

One issue I have with Gladys is her constant ability to constantly have excuses for why the rail network or indeed the whole transport system is broken - its Labors fault. This is certainly one excuse I think could be used for the first 1-2 years, but being we are now heading into the 4th year of Gladys being the transport minister, using this excuse is pathetic and quite honestly a joke.

Go back to school if you want to use lame and quite frankly childish excuses and antics simply because you don't have a plan to honestly fix the issues.

4) Maintenance - whats that again?

Under Gladys watch, we have seen the rail network continue to crumble and in most cases halt to a screaming stall simply because the lack of maintenance planning on her departments watch.

Yes I get they are trying to streamline the process of how maintenance is carried out but there have been way too many maintenance breakdowns and there has to be a point where we all question what the hell is exactly going on? Are maintenance checks being carried out in time or regularly happening or is Transport for NSW just thinking if its not broken or showing "little" wear and tear, its fine.

Obviously something has to give and then change for things to finally be sorted. 

5) Consultation - thats right, I don't have to be here


This is where my main criticism of the incumbent transport minister really come from. The issue that is at the heart of everything is Gladys inability to actually consult and when I mean consult, I mean actually have various meetings with actual stakeholders, community groups and the public in general and come up with fantastic ideas that will assist and help people who use public transport and have a disability.

However we know that the Minister for Transport has on one occasion stated to a group of residents regarding the announced city light rail project and the issues surrounding Devonshire Street where told that she didn't have to be at the meeting. That to us sounds like a Minister who is too self righteous and quite frankly not really wishing to hear the concerns or ideas or suggestions on how to engage with the public.

My emphasis

Lets be honest here. Gladys Berekerklian (yes I know, I spelt her surname wrong but its an appropriate title) is incumbent and whilst some of her lets say concepts may be worth some little merit, there is a lot she & Transport for NSW need to actually do to really transport public transport.

Concepts are one thing, but it remains to see whether her concepts will actually pay off or whether yet again transport in Sydney & NSW will suffer again another stuffed up project.

Transport Minister obviously doesn't get accessibility

It was over the weekend when I got a couple of tweets from the Shadow Transport Minister, Penny Sharpe about a couple of issues that I had raised about accessible issues around the Cityrail network.

To be honest, I would have expected much better answers from the current transport minister, Gladys Berjiklian, but then again what should we expect, from a minister who doesn't listen to the people!!

For example, this was the response from the transport minister regarding only one blacktown lift being replaced currently whilst the other have been approved but are still "pending":

Considering the lift that was replaced is only used for the new carpark and has been available for full public service since early April and being it is now early June, that's a full two months to get something placed into cation if you ask me!!

The next issue was regarding the MLAK key (Master Lock Access Key) and the issue with oenrith's disabled toilet MLAK lock being higher and out of access for someone with a disability:

It's obvious from the above answer that the minister, nor her minions have actually been out to penrith to inspect this issue and I would hold my breath on it ever happening.

By far the biggest slap in the face so to speak would be about the incoming OPAL card and the lack of ability or support nor function ability for someone with a disability, who could tap on and tap off at an opal card reader point:

I think considering that the disability master plan she is referring too had little input nor word from anyone outside with a disability, albeit only members who are part of the organisations listed (and even then their submissions where anywhere between about 1-4 pages long) does not consider it to be any value to anyone.

The minster must be held accountable for her lack of support and understanding to us disabled rail commuters and should meet with us to actually have a discussion which is meaningful and have this and many other issues resolved, well in a utopian world it would happen but we wouldn't hold our breath for it to occur now would we.

Inner-west light rail extension issue

With the inner west light rail extension currently being built in preparation for it's opening in early 2014 (the current NSW Liberal/National Government have not given a firm date/month as of yet), which is a boost for people with disabilities within the area who currently only have access to wheelchair accessible bus services operated by Sydney Buses, it would seem that if you require to go to Dulwich Hill Interchange to catch a train service to either Bankstown, Liverpool, Sydenham or beyond, then your in for a very rude shock.

It would seem that whilst the interchange tram stop at Dulwich Hill will in fact be wheelchair accessible with a lift and ramps, it would seem the current CityRail (soon to be Sydney Trains) Station will not be getting an upgrade to become wheelchair accessible if the artist impression is to go by:

It would seem there is actually nothing stating if the train station would be made accessible anytime within the next five years or so, yet the next station down the road, Marrickville station, is currently earmarked for an upgrade and early preparation/consultation analysis is being undertaken.

Given that the current Transport Minister, Gladys Berjiklian has stated on numerous times, she and her so called team at Transport for NSW (TfNSW) are fixing the backlog of projects and have undertaken and will ensure the delivery of the inner-west light rail project will be delivered without any real additional concerns nor issues such as this, as they were ensuring they got it right the first time, you only have to ask yourself this - who is she trying to kid?

Surely this is an oversight that can be easily corrected immediately with works also being looked into for an upgrade of Dulwich Hill Station, to make it too accessible to all?

TfANSW will be putting the issue to the Minster for comment and will advise via this blog and our Facebook/Twitter/Google+ pages of the outcome when it comes to us immediately.