What it has not revealed, until now, is that none of the new trains will be used on the South Coast line.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian announced earlier this week  that the last of the 78 Waratah trains had been delivered.

Responding to claims from the rail union that safety and security on trains had reached crisis point, Ms Berejiklian said the array of cameras in the Waratahs would protect passengers.

The new trains are each fitted with 64 internal CCTV cameras and 32 external cameras.

The issue of safety reached a head after a series of attacks on rail staff and trains in recent weeks. The latest of these was a graffiti attack on a train at Otford station, where five men in balaclavas laid items on the track to stop the train and then defaced two carriages with spray paint.

A rail employee told the Mercury on Thursday that the new Waratah trains with CCTV cameras would not be used on the South Coast line. Rather, Illawarra commuters would continue to ride on Oscars or Tangaras. The employee said Tangaras had no CCTV cameras installed.

A Transport for NSW spokesman later confirmed the Waratahs would operate on the Sydney suburban network only.

The spokesman said the majority of trains on the South Coast line were Oscars, which unlike the Tangaras, did have CCTV installed.

‘‘Oscars are modern and airconditioned and have extensive CCTV coverage on board,’’ the spokesman said.

‘‘There are now more than 10,000 CCTV cameras and 786 help points on the rail network, including at South Coast line stations and platforms.’’

He also said the government would be ordering a ‘‘brand new $2.8billion next-generation fleet of intercity trains to benefit South Coast customers’’.