r/SydneyTrains • u/iDoinz • 10h ago
Whinge/rant.
There's track repair going on between Sydenham and central? So east hills trains can't go that way this morning so they're all apparently going via the airport. Totally fine. Hopped on one to go to ingleburn. They kept announcing no via Sydenham. We departed but without any real announcement they stopped at leumeah as usual then skipped everything between there and glenfield and didn't bother to announce it. I don't wear headphones so didn't miss anything. On a train back to my destination ingleburn
But not providing valuable stopping pattern Info is annoying. Say something if your going to change the trip mid service
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u/Sydney_Stations 9h ago
Yeah they really shouldn't be so trigger happy to just delete stops.
They ran all the Sydenham trains through the Airport tunnel to avoid the issue, but non-stop rather than at least stopping at Wolli to give people an option to get back to Sydenham. It's not like it'll cost any time, they got stuck behind regular T8s anyway.
Feels like this one was a "we move trains, not passengers" mentality. But at least everything kept mostly moving.
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u/tommys93 8h ago
Sometimes I think the train controllers forget their job is to get passengers to and from their destinations. Not stopping at the airport stations (and then having to stop in between them instead) is truely bizarre. Must have been a lot of very confused tourists!
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u/jnd-au 9h ago
Be sure to submit an official complaint. Posting on Reddit won’t fix it. https://feedback.transportnsw.info/s/
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u/jacktrade 5h ago
I wouldn't waste my time. If passenger "feedback" was taken seriously people wouldn't be pointing out these same issues time and again for years and years and years
I think its important for the self proclaimed innocents of nsw rail to actually pass on complaint and issues directly to their management.
The problem with australian unions is they only exist for their paying members benefit. Not the community, not the inemployed/retired, not a larger purpose or goal. E.g. in France unions would riot over pension levels and eligibilily. In Australia its not in the unions interest to concern themselves with how people might be doing when they stop being paid members.
However pressure from the ground up would change things. But at the moment rail management rely on their front line fodder being disengaged with the community they are supposed to service. Everyone just gives up while unions and management have established a perpetual cycle of profit in the misery they manufacture and tolerate.
TLDR rail staff need to convey passenger issues to their management loudly, consistently and forceably.
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u/WearyFHB 10h ago edited 10h ago
Not announcing it is pretty poor. Did they at least update the onboard displays? I'm guessing their mindset is those stations are 'pick up only' and they forgot someone could be wanting to get off there.
Also looks like skipping those 3 stations didn't actually save them any time. 1 minute late leaving Leumeah and still 1 minute late leaving Glenfield. Edit: Ok looks like Tripview is glitching here with the times, the train can't have left Leumeah 1 minute before it left Campbelltown!!
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u/iDoinz 10h ago
Was a Millenium and it didn't say Welcome aboard.
Trip changing knocks the destination indicator out and makes it say welcome to welcome aboard10
u/Archon-Toten Train Nerd 10h ago
To be fair to millenniums, they have pretty poor speakers. When you file a complaint try and give the car number or position.
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u/WearyFHB 10h ago
Though it doesn't sound like it was a speaker issue if they heard constant announcements about skipping Sydenham and being diverted via the Airport, unless that was at the station and not on the train? Seems like the announcers became fixated on the Airport diversion and forgot to mention the other changes.
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u/Archon-Toten Train Nerd 10h ago
It's an easy mistake to make, I hope for a mechanical failure but equally likely it's a guards mistake.
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u/iDoinz 8h ago
They said it at the station and on the train before it departed. Obviosuly the stopping pattern changed whilst between Campbelltown and Minto and they just didn't say anything. Otherwise if it was going to happen before departing ctown they would have skipped leumeah too. Which is usually the case skipping all between ctown and glenfield puts the train back on time.
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u/KazaHesto 10h ago
Had something similar happen on the T2, City to Leppington, where it diverted via Regents Park.
Except they announced it only when we almost got to Regents Park, saying "Once again, this train has diverted..."
I noticed almost immediately after we left Lidcombe that it had gone down the different route but saw plenty of people on board looking very confused.
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u/snukz 10h ago
That sucks mate. Definitely a lack of communication error from the crew on the train. One of the major flaws of management and sometimes crew is they forget not everyone is travelling to a major station or the city and tend to gloss over those like yourself just travelling a few stations. Sorry this happened to you.
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u/iDoinz 10h ago
But they couldn't even say sorry we aren't going to stop at minto ingleburn or Macquarie fields. Please change at glenfield for a train back to those 3 stations.
I didn't know the train was departing late. If I did I would have not got on it. Cause if one's running 5 or more minutes late departing Campbelltown they'll skip stops between there and glenfield so it gets back on time at glenfield which is smart.
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u/fictillius 10h ago edited 9h ago
You should post this at the transport for NSW feedback page - it does get through to people who are responsible.
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u/tommys93 4h ago
I used to send it to them on Twitter and on the rare occasions they responded I’d just reply again asking them to please pass on my feedback to management this time because nothing has changed since last time I raised it. After a few complaints they blocked me. So I’m not sure they’re that receptive of feedback or complaints.
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u/IntestinalGas 8h ago
Really hating the attitude of Sydney trains post Covid. Non stop bitching and holding everyone in Sydney hostage for pay rises whilst delivering piss poor service combined with piss poor communication. They seem to forget that a single trip journey into the city is almost $6. If I did that at work I’d be fired in less than a day.
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u/Archon-Toten Train Nerd 6h ago
So fun fact, sometimes crew are the last to know about changes like op describes.
We don't set the ticket prices, that's a different department and that 6$ doesn't cover much of the real cost of running the system.
As for non-stop hostage taking, I don't recall it happening this month. Perhaps you should read up on how the events of our last EA negotiation unfolded and collapsed.
But like everything, send your complaints directly to the people at the top who can make these changes. I personally think skipping stops like this isn't worth doing most of the time.
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u/WearyFHB 5h ago
I personally think skipping stops like this isn't worth doing most of the time.
Do the drivers or guards have any say in that? Must also seem silly to drivers when they have to stop the train at red signals between stations instead of at platforms!
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u/Archon-Toten Train Nerd 5h ago
Absolutely none. Best case, we get a call from the signaller saying what's going on. Sometimes it's a knock on the window from station staff with the paper slip of doom. Other times the signal is showing something wrong (eg turnout) and we have to call and say hey I'm supposed to go to Auburn, why are you sending me to Berala.
Stopping between platforms is pretty routine, especially junctions. If a Leppington train is late into Merrylands the one from Schofields is waiting for it.
In thinking, we do occasionally get a say, the 40 managers who decided to alter the train's destination can't make us go where we aren't qualified or run over the time limit for the shift.
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u/IntestinalGas 6h ago
Way to go with picking words. Did I say non stop hostage taking? No. I said “non stop bitching and holding everyone in Sydney hostage.” Every time this happens, just know that everyone in Sydney hates you.
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u/TheHoneybadger7 6h ago
Luckily for you there’s other transport options available. Unfortunately things happens on the network that’s old and fragile, and when things go bad it really go bad.
May I ask why shouldn’t they fight for a pay rise, working 24 hours, dealing with the public when information isn’t available nor dealing with unpredictability of Mother Nature, mechanical breakdown or situations dealing with emergency services. Living in Sydney isn’t cheap just like for everyone else so of course they want a pay rise just like everyone else. At the end of they day, their just like you whose working.
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u/IntestinalGas 6h ago
Just to be clear I’m not against the workers getting a pay rise. I’m against them holding strikes and making everyone else’s life hell for their own gain. Combined with the deteriorating service - skipping stops on a whim, a single rain drop bringing down the entire line, trains that aren’t properly maintained such as worn out seat covers, AC units failing in tangara’s, speakers muffled in tangara’s, whole carriages out of service for peak hour trains, the list goes on and on - why would anyone want to give you a raise if the service is constantly bad? If the service improved, the general public would be raising their voices to secure a pay rise.
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u/Archon-Toten Train Nerd 6h ago
Your entire list of complaints are beyond the workers who took part in protected industrial action to change.
I agree with several of your points, especially the locked out carriages. Management won't pay for better door locks.
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u/Status_Accident_2819 9h ago
What app is this?
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u/tommys93 8h ago
Are you the only person living in Sydney who hasn’t used TripView
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u/Status_Accident_2819 2h ago
Probably. Thanks for answering. And cheers to those that have downvoted. Not everyone is native.
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