Labor says less petitions and more carriages are needed to address overcrowding on the South Coast train line.
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Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward has launched a petition to get more carriages on the 3.24pm and 3.54pm South Coast Line passenger train services from Central.
“I’m calling on all sides of politics to join me in this fight,” he said. “I want this to be a bipartisan campaign.”
The South Coast line’s overcrowding problem is centred on two afternoon services that leave Central at 3.24pm and 3.54pm.
These trains are only four cars and commuters have complained about having to get to Central station 45 minutes early, of having to use the toilet due to a lack of seats or even bringing their own folding chair.
Labor MPs Ryan Park and Paul Scully have dismissed Mr Ward’s latest petition as “nothing but a political stunt”.
They say Mr Ward’s “latest petition against his own government is yet another signal that a fix is on the way”, but Transport Minister Andrew Constance “first wants to see a faux fight to deliver the solution that he already has at his fingertips”.
“The time for petitions has come and gone,” they said in a joint statement.
“It’s time that the Transport Minister stepped up and did something to fix overcrowding on the South Coast line.”
“This is a blatant stunt and quite honestly a slap in the face to the commuters who have been begging for action from this government for a long time now,” Mr Park said.
“The Minister for Transport has treated this region with contempt.
“He won’t meet with local commuters and refuses to even catch a train on the South Coast line. This government knows there is a problem and thanks to this stunt from Gareth we know help is on its way.”
Mr Scully said that the Minister “has a three-point plan sitting in his in-tray that I sent him months ago”.
“All he needs to do is read it and act, rather than asking for another petition a matter of weeks after he has already dismissed a petition on the same issue,” he said.
Mr Ward stood by his petition approach.
“You might remember … I secured additional carriages through a similar mechanism when we needed to double the 4.24pm (train service),” Mr Ward said.
“I know all too well about congestion on the rail network and I’ve been very polite writing letters to the Minister trying to secure additional train services.
“Because we haven’t been able to secure those, I’m now formally petitioning the government and asking for the support for those two specific services.
“I know that with the new train (Intercity Fleet) carriages coming onto the line, there’ll be any opportunity to disperse the trains that are currently servicing others lines and I think we need to take advantage of that.
“I don’t know of any other region that’s running a similar campaign, so I want to get in front of this and see what we can secure.”
Read More: No more carriages for the South Coast line