Transport Minister John Graham said Sydney Underground safety remains a priority and made comments about the recent open door incident. Graham said such incidents, while possible, were rare and security mechanisms were designed to prevent them. However, in the incident on Wednesday morning, the train's doors were open and this was explained as a procedural error.
Details of the Incident and Security Protocols
Graham explained that in the incident, one of his services had been running with the doors open for two minutes during rush hour. Metro Trains Sydney quickly strengthened its protocols to prevent such errors and aims to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. The videos show staff quickly responding to secure the open doors. The minister praised the quick response from staff but ruled out requiring every service to be staffed.
Union Criticism and Staff Increase Request
Union Secretary Toby Warnes said the limited staffing was threatening daily Tube operations. The union warned that such incidents could lead to greater disasters if they were not constantly staffed. However, Graham rejected calls for increased staffing and argued that current safety measures were adequate. He also said the timetables did not endanger passenger safety and there was no evidence of any.
Sydney Metro Challenges and Performance Targets
Sydney Metro has managed to beat Sydney Trains’ delays to achieve a 99% on-time arrival rate. However, the heavy rail network still misses its 92% on-time target. Graham blamed industrial action on Sydney Trains’ maintenance failures, saying the improvements had reduced delays by a third. However, he stressed that more work was needed to resolve the network’s shortcomings.
Future Goals and Labor Relations
Minister Graham has announced that a team of experts will be tasked with resolving the rail and signalling issues for the future of Sydney Metro. This comes after signalling failures last month, affecting multiple lines. Graham said improving worker relations would boost on-time performance across the network. He said tensions remained despite the cessation of union disputes in February, and he set a key goal for 2025 to resolve the situation.
The safety and operational efficiency of Sydney Metro is of critical importance to both workers and passengers. Minister Graham’s comments suggest that safety measures will be increased but he has rejected demands for staffing changes. However, how negotiations with the union unfold and how the challenges on the metro network are overcome will be one of the factors that will determine the future success of Sydney Metro.
