FFS. Turns out people were warned about the “obsolete” components of the radio system on Sydney Trains, but instead of it being addressed we got thrown into chaos last week.
ICYMI: the Sydney Train network was chugga chugga ‘ucked due to the failure of a digital train radio system which left thousands of commuters stranded during peak hours.
It took yonks for the trains to finally start moving and if you tried to Uber outta there, you were met with jacked up prices — which were eventually refunded so I guess there’s some grace there.
It was just pure chaos.
Not a good day to be visiting from Melbourne. #sydneytrains pic.twitter.com/MqFiZt9O6T
— Scott Sunderland (@ScottSunderl4nd) March 8, 2023
New South Wales Premier, Dominic Perrottet apologised for the delays, saying: “I’m really sorry for the inconvenience that many faced yesterday; people were trying to get home to get [their] families, get to work and catch flights. I spoke this morning with the department secretary of transport in relation to that matter. The advice I’ve received was that it was an IT digital system fault.”
But according to a report from last year by Transport for NSW, all of this could’ve been avoided as the report found components in the digital trains radio “obsolete.”
“This has been identified as a priority, with funding reallocated to address this and staff training also being considered as a long-term mitigation measure,” the report obtained by ABC News said.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Jo Haylen, the Labor transport spokeswoman, mentioned that the Liberal government knew about these warnings but did not do any actions to fix it.
“They knew that this could put the whole train network at risk but not enough has been done because there is no accountability. Passengers are yet again paying the price because no one knows who is in charge,” Haylen said.
However, in an interview with ABC Radio Sydney, Premier Dominic denied that the radio failures were predictable. “Maintenance is not an issue … It was a unique situation that occurred,” Dominic said. He also added that is was a “positive” that NSW Transport workers were able to get the system back up during peak-hour.
According to a Sydney Trains spokesperson speaking to ABC News, Sydney Trains “are working together on a plan for the broader technology upgrade for train radio systems, while continuing to keep the current system operating reliably.”
For now — as we wait for these systems to be updated or the inevitable next Sydney Train meltdown – train drivers are apparently given handheld radios just in case a shitshow strikes again.
“A system as critical as the NSW train network needs to have contingencies in place so that we can get things back up and running quickly if things go wrong,” a union spokesman told Sydney Morning Herald.
And honestly, all I can imagine is a bunch of train drivers communicating through those Barbie walkie talkies I use to have in the 2000s.
finding childhood favorites in the basement… #barbiewalkietalkie pic.twitter.com/7WafnriS
— erin_leann (@elmaguire_1) May 19, 2012
Fingers crossed that these upgrades come this year or something, because I’m deadass tired of the bus replacements and cramped train platforms.
