Passenger demand on the South Coast Rail Line has increased by around 15% in just one year.
Opal figures revealed today confirm what the Shadow Minister for the Illawarra, Ryan Park MP and Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully MP have been telling the NSW Government for some time: commuter demand is up and trains are increasingly overcrowded with passengers.
The latest figures confirm a surge in passenger demand of around half a million Opal trips a year since July 2016 on the South Coast Rail Line.
This official data builds on the real life reports the local MP’s receive daily from Illawarra commuters and is further evidence that the Government has been caught unprepared for the current growth phase in the use of Sydney’s public transport system.
Mr Park and Mr Scully are continuing to put pressure on the Government to address overcrowding, claiming there is now hard evidence to support a critical need to increase carriages on the South Coast Line, especially for the over-crowded 3:24pm and 3:54pm services from Central to Wollongong.
The Opal figures show the surge in demand is repeated across the Sydney rail network highlighting a system that is increasingly under pressure. According to Mr Park this data brings in to question the ability of the Government to adequately address the needs of Sydney commuters.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for the Illawarra, Ryan Park MP
“I have long advocated for increased carriages and improved rail services on the South Coast Rail Line.
“This data provides the hard evidence to support my repeated claims that the Government is failing to adequately address the problems faced by Illawarra commuters every day.”
“The Government might be surprised, but we are not, Illawarra commuters have long reported the increase in demand and the impact it has on their daily travel.”
“It’s time the Coalition Government took stopped treating Illawarra commuters as second-class”.
“The South Coast Line is vital infrastructure, linking the Illawarra to Sydney, and is used daily by thousands of commuters. I am disappointed the Government still refuses to take us seriously.”
Comments attributable to the Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully MP:
“The official figures confirm what we have been told by our commuters who are being shoe-horned into overcrowded carriages.
“The NSW Government has been caught flat-footed in responding to the increasing surge of commuters who are using public transport in our region to travel to work every day in Sydney.
“I’ve been pestering the Minister for months to get this issues addressed by putting on additional carriages on the South Coast Line for peak afternoon services from Central to Wollongong.
“The official figures also confirm that the Government must nominate the South Coast Line for business funding under the Federal Government’s National Rail Program before the deadline of September.”
