Transport for NSW needs to get tougher when it comes to enforcing a key measure it said it introduced to deal with overcrowding on South Coast trains.
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That’s the opinion of Wollongong MP Paul Scully, which he put forward in a letter to Transport Minister Andrew Constance.
Mr Scully wants more action taken on the “U-stops” on some afternoon South Coast services from Central.
A U-stop is where passengers cannot get off the train, however, they can board it.
In October 2016, Transport for NSW introduced them on the 3.24pm and 3.54pm Central-South Coast services.
Hurstville and Sutherland are among the stations marked in the rail timetable as U-stops.
Transport for NSW has said they are a way of dealing with overcrowding as it aims to get commuters travelling to those stops to catch a Sydney service instead.
While getting off at a U-stop carries with it a $100 on-the-spot fine, a Transport for NSW spokesman admitted in October last year that no one had been fined in the 12 months since U-stops were introduced.
Mr Scully believed the issue was that no one was bothering to enforce the U-stops.
“As you are aware, I have raised this issue before and the response indicates that passengers have not been fined for alighting at these stations as the pick-up only condition is not being enforced,” Mr Scully said in the letter.
The Wollongong MP suggested additional station staff should be located at U-stops to remind people not to get off. He also said announcements should be made at Central station telling commuters about the pick-up only status of the train.
“My suggestions, if they are implemented properly by the Minister, can make small but immediate improvements to passenger services on the South Coast line while other more longer-term initiatives are developed and implemented,” Mr Scuilly said.
Transport for NSW was contacted for comment.