Thousands of commuters across Sydney have been told not to travel by train today after negotiations between Transport for NSW, NSW Trainlink and the Rail, Tram and Buss Union (RTBU) broke down overnight.
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Union Secretary Alex Claassens, said workers turned up to work this morning prepared to take part in low level protected industrial action which would not have impacted commuters, only to be told by management that trains would not be running today.
Transport NSW said it could not safely operate trains in Sydney.
Balgownie woman Adele Tanner, 72, was caught up in the chaos on Monday as she tried to make her way to a funeral in the Sutherland Shire.
She said had called ahead on Sunday afternoon to make sure she had the right train timetable, and paid for a taxi to make sure she'd be at the station on time.
"I got there and no one was there and I was standing on the station by myself when the announcement came over that there were no trains, and so I asked some gentlemen waiting for the UOW shuttle if there were any buses," she said.
"I stood at the bus stop and asked some buses what was going on, but they didn't know. And I called a lady from Premier but she didn't know either and said it would be too late for any shuttles to be running."
"It's just chaos. I stood on the platform and burst into tears. It wasn't easy for me to organise, I'm 72 and I was dashing like crazy."
With no other options, Ms Tanner called her daughter who lives in Sydney and agreed to drive down to help her mum make it to the funeral of her beloved 93-year-old aunt.
Passengers are advised to seek alternative transport methods to check Transport NSW social media channels for updates.
Commuters from the Illawarra travelling to Sydney will be unable to use intercity services.
Transport for NSW Secretary Rob Sharp said the industrial action would leave tens of thousands of people stranded with no opportunity to plan for alternative transport.
"We are doing everything possible to minimise the impact to commuters and sincerely apologise to everyone inconvenienced by this industrial action," Mr Sharp said.
"This was a difficult decision to make but we cannot and will not compromise on safety."
"We appeared before the Fair Work Commission twice over the weekend, including at 8pm last night (Sunday), seeking a stop to this industrial action by the RBTU."
"These actions will impact hundreds of thousands of commuters and come at a time when people just want to get back to work, back to school and back to university - it's not what our community needs at this time."
Mr Claassens called the situation "a dummy spit from the NSW Government".
"Workers were prepared to take protected industrial action, but only transport management would have noticed the impact, not commuters," he said.
"The impact to services today is not because of workers' actions, but because the NSW Government is spitting the dummy and trying to make a point.
"We're ready to drive the trains whenever the NSW Government will let us.
"All members were at work, ready to work. They were ready and waiting to crew the trains only to be told the trains aren't running today. There is no impediment, only stubbornness on behalf of the NSW Government.
NSW TrainLink regional services, excepting intercity trains, and the Sydney Light Rail network, are expected to operate with minimal disruption.
The parties are scheduled to again appear before the Fair Work Commission at 9am today (Monday) to try to lessen the impact of protected industrial action.
Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink have held more than 30 meetings with the RTBU over the past six months in a bid to reach an agreement on a wide range of claims and remain committed to reach a fair outcome.
Customers are advised to check online at transportnsw.info for the latest updates and if they must travel to utilise alternate modes of transport and allow extra time.
An earlier version of this story misstated that Illawarra trains were still operating after the Mercury was given incorrect information from Transport NSW.
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An earlier version of this story misstated that Illawarra trains were still operating after the Mercury was given incorrect information from Transport NSW.
Download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
