Digital Photo Gallery of Ted Szukalski
Fine art digital photography, photographic news, reviews, articles and resources.

Tangara Train

NSW Labor state government has found itself again with an egg on its face after it has been disclosed the new Chatswood - Epping rail line may not be able to be serviced by modern trains due to the steepness of the approaches into and out of the tunnels, which run deeply under Lane Cove River. It is obvious the engineering aspect of the tunnel was not fully researched, and the commuters will have to endure trips in the very outdated 20 to 30-year-old trains. The link costing in excess of 2.3bn dollars did not deserve a technical due diligence.

Wynyard station - platform 4 at 5:28pm

This week was a total disaster for Sydney City Rail. Firstly, an electrical storm on the Central Coast line caused delays for commuters in excess of three hours. City Rail stuff were totally unprepared for the situation. The replacement bus service took for ever to be organised and when the drivers arrived they have not been informed what happened and where to go. There were no City Rail officers at the bus stop to explain it to them or to communicate with the commuters. Conflicting announcements over the PA system could not reach the public, who were told to wait for the buses outside. The very next morning a tragic death accident caused even more delays for the commuters. Again, there were no contingency procedures to deal with the situation. A day later a gas leak at Epping put the timetables into disarray again. 30 minute delays, overcrowded platforms in peak evening hours. The photograph taken at Wynyard station shows Sydney commuters on platform 4 in temperatures exceeding 30C faced with a train, which arrived so full I doubt a single person was able to board it. And the week is not over yet…

The pictured, contemplating CityRail employee reminded me of a very timely issue with the transport system in Sydney.

I often read a free newspaper called MX on my way home. In the reader section there is almost always a complaint against CityRail, its staff, trains and service in general. Some of the criticism is deserved and some of it is simply absurd. I wonder if all the negativity towards the service will lead to further demise of the service as the hard working people who provide it may find it hard to motivate themselves to work there.