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Mon.28.2.22 Metro Twitter
Flinders St: still with a lane closed for tunnel works? [reopened by July]
Aircraft: No ramp access to platforms until late 2021 (pedestrian-underpass works), delayed to March 2022.
Buses replace trains  between Caulfield and Westall from 20.30 until the last train each night from tonight until Thursday 3 March 2022 (works).
Werribee/Williamstown lines: Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Newport/Williamstown from 20.45 until the last train (maintenance works).
Sunbury line: Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Sunshine from 20.55 to the last train (maintenance works).

Why Dominic Perrottet didn't know trains were going to be shut down. Padraig Collins For Daily Mail Australia - 27 Feb. 17 Comments
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet didn't know Sydney's rail network would entirely shut down last Monday because the man who was supposed to tell him didn't do so.
video: Sydney rail services halted in dispute between NSW Govt and unions (ABC NEWS)
<www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/why-dominic-perrottet-didn-t-know-trains-were-going-to-be-shut-down/ar-AAUn6xv?ocid=msedgntp>

The real reason Dominic Perrottet didn't know Sydney's trains were going to be shut down. PADRAIG COLLINS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA 27 February 2022. 31 comments
New South Wales' top public servant slept through a crucial text message
Secretary of the Premier's department was supposed to pass message on
Millions of people were affected by Sydney-wide train shutdown on Monday
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet didn't know Sydney's rail network would entirely shut down last Monday because the man who was supposed to tell him didn't do so.
Michael Coutts-Trotter, the state's top public servant, got a text message at 11.50pm last Sunday night that the rail network would not be operating.
He was meant to pass this on to Mr Perrottet, but Mr Coutts-Trotter - the secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet - was asleep and did not hear his phone beep, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
More than two hours earlier, at 9.30pm, Mr Coutts-Trotter had been told by an 'employee relations' official that train services would be operating the next day, but would become 'progressively degraded' during the day.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured right) with his wife Helen (left). The man supposed to tell him about Monday's Sydney train shutdown didn't do so
There was chaos in Sydney on Monday, February 21 as the entire rail network shut down. Pictured is an empty Sydney train station
The bureaucrat passed this on to the Premier's ­office and went to bed, sleeping through the 11.50pm text from Transport for NSW secretary Rob Sharp telling him that things had changed and the network would be shut down. 
The latest revelation of sleeping getting in the way of the functioning of the state's transport system followed an admittance by NSW Transport Minister David Elliott that he too was asleep when the shutdown was announced. 
Having spent the lead up to the city-wide train shutdown having a beer in a pub with Prime Minister Scott Morrison 3,900km in the Northern Territory, Mr Elliott was also in bed on Sunday night when a key part of his portfolio was in chaos.  
He jetted home to Sydney from Darwin at 6.30pm on Sunday night. At 11.10pm Mr Elliott took to social media to vent his anger - not at the major disruption that was about to hit Sydney, but at police officers whom he thought were mocking the Catholic Church by appearing in a picture with someone dressed as a nun.
Then Mr Elliott went to bed. He made no apologies for not staying up or even being contactable, as others made the decision to shut Sydney's entire rail network down.
'I’m OK that they didn't call me at 12.30 in the morning because I wouldn't have answered the phone,' he said. 
A few hours later, millions of commuters were left frustrated when Mr Elliott's department shut down the city's trains without any notice. 
Michael Coutts-Trotter (pictured) got a text message at 11.50pm last Sunday night that the Sydney rail network would not be operating on Monday. He was meant to pass this on to Premier Dominic Perrottet, but Mr Coutts-Trotter was asleep and did not hear his phone beep
He found out the network had shut down at 4am on Monday when he woke up.
Mr Perrottet found out even later, at about 5.30am, having gone to bed thinking trains would be running in some form on the Monday morning.
The Premier was not impressed with Mr Elliott. 'My expectation is that ministers are available around the clock. I certainly am, and I expect the same of my ministers,' he said.
NSW's Shadow Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen, told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Elliott had 'one job, and that's to keep our transport system running.
NSW Minister for Transport David Elliott (right) posted a picture of himself having a beer with Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) in the Northern Territory on Friday February 18
'The Minister said he knew there would be "widespread disruption" before he went to bed and turned his phone off,' Ms Haylen said.
'Why did he clock off when he should have been making sure our trains are running?'
It has also emerged that transport officials had been negotiating with bus companies for days before the shutdown to provide cover for a train shutdown.        
Twelve buses were booked on February 16 as the rail dispute was taken to the Fair Work Commission, with another 23 hired last Sunday night.
But 39 buses were nowhere near enough to cover an entire rail network closure and millions of people's travel was disrupted or didn't happen.   
Countdown to chaos - the chain of events leading to the Sydney train shutdown 
Past six months: Rail Tram and Bus Union, Sydney Trains, and the NSW Government have 30 meetings trying to resolve long-running dispute over new enterprise agreement.
Union demands better pay and conditions and improvements to hygiene and safety, and no moves to privatise the network.
Friday, February 18: NSW Minister for Transport David Elliott flies to Darwin.
Saturday, February 19: Two sides meet for conciliation with Sydney Trains and government sending 10 lawyers at a $500,000 cost to taxpayers.
Government wants all industrial action halted and is pushing for the Fair Work Commission to arbitrate the contract dispute. Union is dead against that as it claims the Commission is stacked with anti-union members.
Union agrees to cancel a ban on overtime and other plans in exchange for being able to go ahead with scaled-down industrial action on Monday for two weeks, and the government withdrawing arbitration push.
Action limited to a ban on 'altered working' and other flexible rostering that Sydney Trains uses to respond to changes on the network.
Union secretary described altered working as: 'You know you're going to work on a particular time, but you don't quite know the duties you're going to be doing.'
Sunday, February 20: Mr Elliott is still in Darwin, but flies back to Sydney.
Meanwhile, the NSW government realises it agreed to a deal that protects industrial action by the union. Transport for NSW claims the network cannot operate safely under the 'altered working' ban.
8pm Sunday: Government sends Crown solicitors to the Fair Work Commission to demand the industrial action be called off and 'clarify' the deal. Union leaders are not present but RTBU's lawyers are.
Fair Work Commission sides with the union and the industrial action is scheduled to go ahead.
11.50pm Sunday: Michael Coutts-Trotter, the state's top public servant, gets a text message that the rail network would not be operating. He is supposed to pass this message on to Premier Dominic Perrottet, but is asleep and doesn't hear his phone beep.
Monday, 1.38am: Transport for NSW secretary Rob Sharp sends an email suddenly cancelling all services in what rail workers called a 'dummy spit'.
He and the government claim the industrial action compromised rail safety and they had no choice but to shut it down.
Union secretary Alex Claassens later rejects this, arguing the limited industrial action would cause delays but was easy to work around if Sydney Trains was properly prepared.
5am: Sydney Trains tell passengers via social media that all trains are cancelled and they will need to find alternative transport.
Train staff show up to work, only to find themselves locked out. Union bosses are also taken by surprise, thinking the deal was still in place.
8am: Mr Claassens holds an emotional press conference where he lashes the government and explains the death of his friend on the job is an example of why workers are demanding better safety standards.
He earlier went on radio to accuse the government of 'spitting the dummy' and shutting down the network to embarrass the union.
RELATED ARTICLES David Elliott photo with Scott Morrison that will infuriate Sydney Trains... Reason for Sydney's train meltdown - revealed
<www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10556753/The-real-reason-Dominic-Perrottet-didnt-know-Sydneys-trains-going-shut-down.html>

CBD revival can’t be at the expense of the suburbs: mayors, business leaders. Caitlin Fitzsimmons February 27, 2022. 30 comments
The sudden end of working-from-home arrangements and an emphasis on reviving the central business district could come at the expense of the gains made by suburban businesses during the pandemic, local mayors and business leaders warn.
Major employers, from the NSW government to the Commonwealth Bank, have told staff to prepare for a return to the office, after the COVID-19 public health order that required them to allow working from home where possible was lifted a week ago, and the mask mandate ended on Friday.
Cafes in suburbs from Bondi to Bankstown have benefited from having residents work from home.CREDIT:FLAVIO BRANCALEONE
The Business Council of Australia, which is among a number of groups calling for the revival of the Sydney CBD, lobbied for the relaxation of restrictions at the NSW government’s CBD Summit earlier this month. Premier Dominic Perrottet told the summit the government was “looking at bringing life back to the CBD”, which meant relaxing restrictions and red tape in the short term, but also coming up with a longer-term plan.
But mayors and chambers of commerce in other parts of Sydney, from both sides of the political fence, warn that the suburbs need to be a central part of any economic recovery plans, and not just the areas that were designated “local government areas of concern” during the Delta lockdown last year.
Ryde Mayor Jordan Lane said his state government colleagues had “their hearts in the right place” but he took a “contrary view”.
“There’s nothing better as a local mayor than being able to see local cafes and restaurants full because people who’ve chosen to work from home [and] are choosing to have their after-work drink or dinner in a local cafe or restaurant rather than one in the CBD,” Cr Lane said.
“I understand the logic of those that are pushing them for CBD activation, but as a suburban mayor, I want the activation and the investment to stay here in Ryde.”
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said the NSW government “has become fixated on the CBD” but it had been in decline for years, with the lockout laws and construction of the George Street light rail predating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cr Byrne said Sydneysiders were showing by their actions they wanted to go out in their neighbourhoods and were not comfortable taking public transport to the city, and the government should recognise the huge economic opportunity in driving COVID-19 recovery from the suburbs.
“A lot of hospitality business owners say that the increase in lunch-time trade from the people working from home has helped to even their losses from the night-time trade even throughout the various lockdowns,” Cr Byrne said. “That’s a good thing but they’re still struggling, and we really need support from the government to rejuvenate Main Street activity.”
Cr Byrne said the government had spent millions on CBD activation grants and should match this with investment in al fresco dining, live performances and street parties in neighbourhoods across the city.
NSW Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes said the government was already investing in COVID-19 recovery across the state, through the $66 million Alfresco Restart Package. Last week the Premier also announced $400 million for a WestInvest program for councils across South-West and Western Sydney.
“The NSW government has committed millions in funding right across the board including a focus on communities who did the toughest during the Delta Lockdowns,” Mr Stokes said. ”I’m looking forward to seeing the streets of Greater Sydney come alive – from Burwood to Bankstown over the coming months.“
However, Parramatta Lord Mayor Donna Davis said Parramatta had not received support at anywhere near the level of the Sydney CBD.
Cr Davis council was trying to revive the Parramatta CBD with events such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Parramatta Park and a First Nations hip hop festival. She also represents 33 other suburbs with town centres and acknowledged the trend for people to socialise in local suburbs had benefited small businesses in tough times.
“They’ve become used to people trickling down to their local cafe when they’re working from home,” Cr Davis said. “We don’t want to be in a situation where those businesses are impacted.”
Hornsby Mayor Philip Ruddock said he would be “happy to accept any further support that the state government is prepared to offer” to boost the Hornsby town centre.
He understood why businesses might require employees in the office for better collaboration but hoped they would offer reasonable flexibility and expected the shift to be gradual.
Anne Kenyon, the president of the Hornsby Chamber of Commerce, said many local businesses had found their rhythm catering to people working from home and were “frustrated by the goal posts moving again” and nervous it could happen suddenly. Many workers resented the rhetoric around “return to work” because they had been working all along, she said.
Wally Mehanna, chief executive of the Canterbury-Bankstown Chamber of Commerce, said the CBD and suburbs were both important and there needed to be a balance.
“Any campaign to get people back to the CBD should also mention the suburbs and their own local theme, local strength and local offer,” Mr Mehanna said.
People in NSW can return to work in CBD offices without masks from the start of March amid a major easing of COVID-19 restrictions in NSW. CREDIT:KATE GERAGHTY
Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said the major town centres across Randwick had experienced a 23 per cent decline because of a loss of tourism, and there was a fear among local businesses this could be exacerbated by a rush back to the CBD for residents.
“There may be some merit in a vibrant CBD, but the CBD is definitely not the whole story,” Cr Parker said. “Major centres may have been, pre COVID, the economic heart of Sydney, but I would hope going forward that isn’t the whole picture. It was an out-moded way of thinking.”
Cr Parker said the future was not about getting workers back to the CBD but about giving them alternatives so they didn’t need to.
However, in neighbouring Waverley, Mayor Paula Masselos said returning to work in the office, whether in the CBD or other commercial areas such as Bondi Junction, was “a step towards some sort of normalcy that our community craves”.
Cr Masselos acknowledged there could be a “slight drop-off in trade” for local cafes and restaurants but people might still work from home for part of the week and it would hopefully soon be offset by the return of international tourists.
Paul Nicolaou, executive director of Business Sydney, said CBD revival was necessary and the “hybrid model” of splitting the week between a central workplace and working from home could help assuage concerns of business owners in the suburbs.
“Sydney is the first port of call for tourists and overseas visitors when they’re coming to Australia, and we need a city that’s vibrant, exciting, workable, livable,” Mr Nicolaou said.
“A lot of people are now doing three days work in the city and the other two days they’re working from home, so it’s not going to have a massive impact on businesses in the local communities.”
Mr Stokes echoed this, saying he hoped hybrid work options let workers “experience the best of both worlds – whether it be enjoying alfresco dining or coffee in Penrith or Pitt Street.”
However, Cr Davis from Parramatta warned one of the dangers of a hybrid model was that people tended to go to the CBD on the same days of the week.
Even before the pandemic, childcare centres especially in affluent areas generally experienced higher demand on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, because of parents working part time or flexible hours.
RELATED ARTICLE Green Square in the City of Sydney is a major urban renewal project. Sydney’s global city status ‘at risk’ from developer levy overhaul
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cbd-revival-can-t-be-at-the-expense-of-the-suburbs-mayors-business-leaders-20220223-p59yx0.html>

Jump in CBD foot traffic on first Monday since office mask mandate lifted. Ashleigh McMillan and Cassandra Morgan February 28, 2022
Maskless commuters returned to Melbourne’s CBD on Monday morning after rules were loosened, and many say the return to in-person work has begun in earnest.
The mandate to wear masks in offices and other indoor environments was removed at 11.59pm on Friday, while the public health recommendation for Victorians to work from home was also scrapped.
video Work from home and mask mandates lifted in Victorian workplaces
For the first time in nearly two years, Victorians are able to return to the workplace as restrictions ease.
Masks are now only required in certain settings, including on public transport, in ride-share vehicles, in hospitals and indoor areas at care facilities. Those employed in hospitality, retail, courts, justice and correctional facilities and at events with more than 30,000 people must still wear masks.
A major migration back to the office was expected on Monday, but most of the commuters travelling through Flinders Street Station said it was not the first day they had physically gone into work recently.
While the earliest trains were populated by tradespeople and essential workers – who have been no strangers to their workplaces during the pandemic – office workers began to spill from busy train carriages after 8am.
Many said the trains were the fullest they had seen in recent memory, with all seats occupied on many carriages.
City of Melbourne pedestrian data showed foot traffic outside Flinders Street Station was up 31 per cent on the four-week average at 8am on Monday, and foot traffic at Collins Street was 13 per cent higher.
Outside Melbourne Central on La Trobe Street, pedestrian movement was 23 per cent above the four-week average at 8am on Monday.
In Docklands, at the intersection of Spencer and Bourke streets, foot traffic was up 25 per cent.
Victorian opposition jobs and employment spokesman David Southwick described the long-awaited return to work as a “fizzer”.
“We expected to see more people back, and we expected to see the city back to life,” he said.
“We know if the Andrews government doesn’t have a plan to bring workers back, then Monday and Friday will simply be a public holiday.”
While data from the Department of Transport did not show a notable peak-hour road traffic increase, the number of passengers getting off at Melbourne CBD train stations jumped.
A Department of Transport spokeswoman said their research suggested Mondays and Fridays would be popular days to work from home, so they expected the road network to be “busier over the next few days”.
Office worker Ashwin George during his commute through the Melbourne CBD. CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER
Ashwin George, a consultant at EY, was one of many Melburnians to adopt a flexible routine for returning to work in the CBD. He has been going into the office once a week for the past month.
“I think there’s a bit of a change happening – masks are off and the recommendation to work from home is gone as well, so I think those factors lead to more people in the office,” he said.
“People are starting to come back, but we’ll really see how many today.”
Standing under the Flinders Street Station clocks, Stewart Holmes said he expected the return to work would be a “slow process” but would ultimately pay dividends.
Stewart Holmes at Flinders Street Station on Monday. CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER
“There will be a little bit of hesitancy, but once people get back into the rhythm, they’ll realise you do business by talking to people, not by staring at a screen,” he said.
“We’ve just got a new office that’s just been opened, and combine that with the fact that masks are off, I think you’ll expect to see a lot more people.”
Demand for ride-share vehicles was strong early on Monday, with a trip from the city’s northern suburbs into the CBD costing $88 when it would usually cost $27.
Uber’s surge peaked, on average, between 8am and 9am, with prices largely returning to normal after that.
CREDIT:MATT GOLDING
A spokesperson for the ride-share service said “dynamic pricing” ensured people who wanted a lift could get one.
They said when prices surged, it attracted more drivers to an area, “and people who don’t want to pay the higher price and have time can wait until more driver-partners are in the area or choose an alternative”.
“This morning, as Melburnians returned to the office in droves, we saw increased demand for trips during the morning commute period as well as more driver-partners online and taking trips than we’d seen on average over the prior four weeks,” the spokesperson said.
Students were also flocking back to the city in big numbers on Monday, with face-to-face learning returning on the first day of the semester at a number of major Melbourne universities.
Tara Kennedy makes her way through the Melbourne CBD on Monday after mask rules indoors were loosened. CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER
Torrens University naturopathy student Tara Kennedy said the pandemic had made her “more introverted”, and she was only planning to enter the CBD for tutorials before going straight home.
“I do feel pretty comfortable coming in though because everyone is vaccinated now,” she said.
“And there’s a level of people wanting to stay away from people, everyone is giving each other more space, not getting up close and personal.
“I think most people will probably still wear masks, it’s just a subconscious thing now.”
RELATED ARTICLE Ukraine Kyiv composite 27 February 2022 As it happened: Belarus invites Russian nukes onto its territory; Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to peace talks; Russian rouble tumbles to record low; NSW, Qld hit by major floods
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‘Slow burn’: Workers return to CBD in a trickle, not a stampede. Michael Koziol February 28, 2022
Like many Sydneysiders, Caitlyn Bellis and Emily Wood headed back to the office for the first time in months on Monday. Ms Wood found the commute from Coogee and the earlier start “a bit rough” but both were happy to be back and celebrated with a felafel lunch.
“One of my mates said that work has become quite personal now – people want to do it in their own time and in their own space instead of coming into a shared office,” said Ms Bellis. “But I disagree, I like coming in. I like a mix.”
Back in the office: law firm workers Caitlyn Bellis and Emily Wood reunited in the CBD with a lunch break felafel.CREDIT:MICHAEL KOZIOL
After the government ended its recommendation for people to work from home where practical, many companies set February 28 or March 1 as their official “return to the office” date – not necessarily full-time but generally at least three days a week.
With masks no longer needed in the office and trains running to their normal weekday timetable, conditions were ripe for office workers to swarm back to the CBD. But it was a slow burn rather than a huge rush – Mondays tend to be quieter in the city than the middle of the week – and the inclement weather remains an incentive to stay at home.
One building manager at a high-rise office block in the city described the return to work as a “slow burn”. He said the building had hosted two return-to-work celebrations, but occupancy remained very low, and the same was true of every other building manager he knew.
For long-suffering CBD businesses, a stampede would have been better than a trickle, but they’ll take what they can get.
Two Penny Coffee’s “Master G” said trade was picking up but still slower than before COVID.CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD
“It’s picking up [but] it’s not back to normal yet,” said “Master G”, the barista at Two Penny Coffee, a hole-in-the-wall operation near the George Street entrance of Wynyard station. “It’s going in the right direction, we’ve just got to get there.”
At nearby Hester’s, a popular meeting spot for breakfast and lunch, manager Monica Tyburczy said the pace had “absolutely” picked up, especially for a Monday. “I definitely noticed that it’s busier today. I’m glad they’re back,” she said.
“I definitely noticed that it’s busier today. I’m glad they’re back,” said Monica Tyburczy from Hester’s in Wynyard.CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD
Another change in people’s behaviour she has welcomed: nobody really wants to talk about COVID-19 any more. “It’s like it never happened,” she said.
But around the corner in Martin Place, Renee Baltov’s Barberhood was still struggling to keep staff occupied. A few weeks ago, Ms Baltov told the government’s Sydney CBD Summit her business had been “decimated” by two years of COVID restrictions; if Monday’s foot traffic was anything to go by, that won’t change any time soon.
Manager Nicole Bou-Samra said bookings were actually down this week, instead of recovering. “We had a lot of our customers talk to us about [how] they didn’t want to come back to work until masks were gone,” she said. “Now masks are gone, they’re still not here.”
Barber Elvis Jones, from Barberhood in Martin Place, where bookings are down this week despite the proclaimed return to the CBD.CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD
Matt Beattie, who works in the city at student accommodation provider Scape, said his core team had been back in the office since the start of the year “but as of today, it’s basically all guns blazing and everyone’s in”.
Mr Beattie noticed more people, fewer seats and fewer masks on his train from Bondi Junction on Monday morning. And the office fruit bowl – a much-missed casualty of the pandemic – had also made its triumphant return.
“Generally speaking, I think everyone’s pretty happy to be back,” says CBD office worker Matt Beattie.CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD
A few colleagues, particularly those with children, were keen to retain long-term flexibility in their work patterns, “but generally speaking, I think everyone’s pretty happy to be back”, Mr Beattie said.
Ben Hamer, who runs the “future of work” program at PwC, said the best companies used social events, company conferences or one-on-one meetings to reconnect people with their colleagues, rather than mandating days in the office or trying to lure employees back with tricks and treats.
“While no one is going to turn their nose down at things like free yoga classes and live music, they’re not really going to change behaviour over the longer term,” he said.
For the city’s street homeless, the return of office workers can’t come soon enough. But even then, fewer people are carrying cash these days thanks to the pandemic.
Michael, who sat at the corner of Pitt and Hunter streets on Monday and did not want his surname published, said it now took him all day to raise the $30 or $50 he would have once made by 10am.
“Even if there’s more people around, I don’t make much,” he said. “[But] they buy you a lot of food.”
RELATED ARTICLE Cafes in suburbs from Bondi to Bankstown have benefited from having residents work from home. CBD revival can’t be at the expense of the suburbs: mayors, business leaders
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/slow-burn-workers-return-to-cbd-in-a-trickle-not-a-stampede-20220228-p5a0c8.html>

Transport chief warns of sticking points as Sydney trains return to full timetable. Matt O'Sullivan and Lucy Cormack February 28, 2022
Sydney’s commuters have been warned of potential disruptions to services if train breakdowns and other incidents occur this week because the rail network will take longer to recover from problems while industrial action is taking place.
A week after Sydney’s rail network was shut down, disrupting hundreds of thousands of people, a full weekday timetable for suburban trains will be reinstated on Monday to cope with increased demand from more people returning to work in offices.
Transport for NSW chief operating officer Howard Collins on Sunday.CREDIT:JAMES ALCOCK
Transport for NSW chief operations officer Howard Collins said it would take longer for rail services to recover from incidents while limited industrial action by members of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) was under way.
However, Mr Collins said the rail operator was expecting less crowding on trains than last week due to the reinstatement of the full weekday timetable. Almost 3000 services a day will operate, three times the number last week.
Transport Minister David Elliott and Transport for NSW secretary Rob Sharp face a grilling on Friday at a budget estimates hearing about the shutdown.
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland made the decision late on the night of February 20 to shut the network, which was endorsed by Mr Sharp. Mr Collins said he was on leave in the lead up to the 24-hour shutdown, and did not become involved until he returned last Monday.
Trains parked at Auburn stabling yards on February 21 during the shutdown of the rail network.CREDIT:WOLTER PEETERS
Mr Collins said he hoped to see progress this week in a fresh round of negotiations between the Sydney Trains’ leadership and the RTBU over a new three-year enterprise agreement.
“It’s hard graft, but I think we will get to a solution,” he said. “We are determined to resolve this dispute. In the meantime, we want to avoid disruption of the public as much as possible.”
RTBU state secretary Alex Claassens said the government had made “lots of promises” but nothing had yet materialised to resolve the differences over the new enterprise agreement.
However, Mr Claassens said none of the protected industrial action planned this week would prevent Sydney Trains from operating the full weekday timetable.
Trains will return to a full weekday service on Monday.CREDIT:KATE GERAGHTY
The government, meanwhile, is considering options for discount public transport fares to encourage people to return to the Sydney CBD.
Mr Collins said the government had yet to decide on discount train fares after transport officials proposed various models. “We’ve given some proposals, and obviously, we’re waiting to understand if the government wishes to go ahead with that decision,” he said.
“Hopefully, any discounts which may be offered by the government will actually encourage more people to come into the city.”
Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward said discount fares were “something to be considered” in consultation with the transport agency.
Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen called on the government to give commuters a fare-free day on a Monday as compensation for the disruption caused from the 24-hour shutdown last week. “The government shut down the entire train network … at the beginning of the working week. They abandoned passengers on platforms and left them with nowhere to go,” she said.
The government is also planning to announce a panel of business leaders to advise on other initiatives to encourage people to return to the city. It will also announce recipients of the CBD Revitalisation grants fund in coming weeks.
RELATED ARTICLE Trains parked at Auburn stabling yards on Monday during the shutdown of the rail network. Government planned for Sydney train shutdown days before it occurred
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* This has been a joke. Tell people to return to the cbd, insufficient trains, no masks in cbd.
* Blame everyone else. This is the motto and slogans of the NSW Liberals and the politicised servants that allegedly work with them.
* Maybe the likes of Mr Collins and Mr Elliot could look at it this way. If they managed to create a good rail system, one managed more cooperatively with employees, they could well enjoy a more reliable, efficient system without much "train strain". At some point one might ask themselves - who is actually causing the strain?
* LNP was caught out on this one and rightfully so.
* "A week after Sydney’s rail network was shut down, disrupting hundreds of thousands of people," Fixed it: "A week after Sydney’s rail network was shut down by the Rail bosses and the NSW LNP, disrupting hundreds of thousands of people,"

Mon.28.2.22 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'.  Letters.
* NOTHING will entice me to commute on gridlocked roads, expensive parking, beggars, people camped in shopfronts, graffiti, people injecting illicit drugs, and smelly laneways. I have closed my office and happy to work from my residence. I enjoy walking to my local cafe and restaurants.
* Dirty, drug and homeless-infested city centre to shop? Or shop at clean, vibrant shopping malls? Wait a minute, I’m still pondering that one!
* LET’S hope only 200,000 go to the CBD next week. These so-called planners are way off the current public mood and trying to sell us a pup.
* TRYING to get people back into the city but creating more bike lanes and making things even more difficult and confusing for motorists is counter productive.
* KYLIE, (TT, 24/2) don't expect those city workers returning to use public transport with a fine now in place for not wearing a mask while travelling.