South Coast commuters will see some relief from overcrowded afternoon services from the second week of January.
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A Transport for NSW spokesman said the 3.24pm and 3.54pm services will each get four extra carriages from Monday, January 7.
The two services operate as four-car sets and have been a constant source of complaints about overcrowding.
The extra carriages were announced by Transport Minister Andrew Constance in September but, until now, no official date for their introduction had been given.
There had been suggestions the carriages would not be online until the end of the school holidays in late January.
However, the January 7 introduction means they will be ready to when most workers return from their Christmas break.
The extra carriages have come about by replacing the Oscar train on the 5.46pm South Coast service with a Tangara.
This means the eight Oscar carriages can be divided between the two services in the early peak.
Despite the carriage switch only involving trains on the South Coast line, the Transport for NSW spokesman said it couldn’t be delivered any sooner than January.
“We have been focused on delivering these improvements as quickly as possible, however these changes require detailed planning, taking into account not only these two services but how it will affect the broader operations of the line and network,” the spokesman said.
“This involves changes to the way we manage and maintain our existing train fleet, power supply and staffing levels, as well as having sufficient time to communicate the changes to our customers.”
The two afternoon services have long been a source of frustration for commuters, with them being standing room only when they pull out of Central.
One commuter even claimed to have used the toilet as a seat to get a break from standing for long periods.