Trains are set to shut down in Sydney over four days after the New South Wales government rejected rail union demands to run 24-hour train services, with fears it would throw the state’s transport system into chaos.
The state’s Rail, Tram and Bus Union had threatened to stop work completely unless the government ran additional services overnight from Thursday to Sunday, as it continued to negotiate for higher pay and conditions.
The state transport minister, Jo Haylen, said the network, which is used by more than 1 million people on a typical day, would not be running services between Thursday and Sunday.
The union’s work ban would only apply from 10pm on Thursday and up to 6am on Sunday but fewer services were expected across the entire four days.
“Because the union has not lifted those bans, there will be no train services between Thursday and Sunday this week,” Haylen said. “This will cause major disruption to the millions of people that rely on these services.”
The government had agreed to run 24-hour trains and avoided a shutdown after the union made the same demand last week but Haylen said the network could not survive an extended timetable.
“If we continue to try to run 24-hour services over the weekend, the fact is it will eventually lead [to] the failure of our rail network,” she said.
But the union has said maintenance could be carried out outside the overnight periods, and the RTBU NSW secretary, Toby Warnes, argued the time-limited bans would have limited impact outside Friday and Saturday.
“There shouldn’t be any disruption to the commuters of Sydney on Thursday or Sunday,” he said. “If the NSW government chooses to shut down the rail system at any stage this week, it will be entirely their decision.”
The government and rail unions have for months been negotiating over pay and conditions for about 14,000 train workers, with the RTBU demanding a 32% pay rise over four years.
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The union has taken hundreds of industrial actions since September and more were scheduled to come into force on Wednesday. Separate work bans could force the cancellation of intercity trains between Sydney and regional centres later in the week, according to Matt Longland, the chief executive of Sydney Trains.
Extra bus and other services would be rolled out, but the train shutdown would strain the capacity of replacement transport options.
The shutdown was expected to impact crowds attending two Pearl Jam concerts at Sydney Olympic Park and the A-League’s Unite Round, which involves six double-headers across Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the men’s and women’s competitions, at Allianz Stadium at Moore Park and Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah. That includes the men’s derby between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night at Allianz.
Additional reporting by Elias Visontay and AAP
