"... a failure in a piece of technology..."

Yeah, technology is great - when it works....

On Thu, Mar 9, 2023, 15:02 Tony Galloway arg@...> wrote:

> So David Fat Controller Idiot thought “industrial sabotage” might have

> been responsible - what an odious and despicable grub :

>

>

>

> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/09/sydney-trains-running-uber-refunds-surge-pricing-after-nsw-train-rail-network-down

>

> Sydney train commuters to get free transport day after rail network outage

> causes chaosCybersecurity attack ruled out as rail shutdown puts pressure

> on NSW government before state election

> Natasha May <//www.theguardian.com/profile/natasha-may>

> [image: Commuters waiting for light rail services after Town Hall station

> was closed]

> Commuters wait for light rail services after Sydney’s train network was

> shut down. Those who turned to Uber will have surge pricing refunded.

> Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

>

> The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet

> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/dominic-perrottet, has

> apologised for a peak-hour meltdown of the Sydney rail network less than

> three weeks out from the state election.

>

> The shutdown on Wednesday afternoon

> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/08/sydney-train-network-trains-down-rail-delays-halt-communications-fault-update

> left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, with Uber fares spiking to

> hundreds of dollars in surge-price fees.

>

> Amid a backlash on Thursday, Uber promised to reimburse customers who were

> charged the surge prices.

>

> Perrottet apologised for the system shutdown and said he had ordered a

> fare-free day be instituted as a result. “These challenges occur from time

> to time,” he said.

>

> “What’s most important is when they happen they get fixed immediately.

> I’ve been assured by the secretary of the Department of Transport

> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/transport that this won’t

> happen again.”

>

> Immediately after the network shutdown the retiring transport minister,

> David Elliott, said it was most likely the result of a “glitch” but also

> suggested it may have been caused by “foreign interference or industrial

> sabotage”.

>

> -

>

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>

> Those concerns were dismissed by transport chiefs on Thursday, who blamed

> a fault in the network’s communications.

>

> Transport for NSW said the network had been shut down for safety reasons

> after the digital train radio system on the network failed about 2.45pm.

> The system was back online within about an hour but delays ensued into the

> peak period.

>

> The head of Sydney https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/sydney

> Trains, Matt Longland, said “based on the detailed review overnight” the

> delays had been caused by a failure in a piece of technology and were not

> “related to any suspected issue in terms of any cyber activity or any

> anything of that nature”.

>

> The failure came in the network’s emergency system, known as Frequentis,

> which Longland said was managed by a third-party “technology partner”.

>

> A backup system supposed to kick in in the event of a fault had not

> worked, he said, something Sydney Trains was still investigating. Asked on

> Thursday whether the system should be run in-house, he said the agency made

> case-by-case decisions.

>

> “The decision that we made at the time in 2016 was really about buying a

> proven system that operates internationally,” he said.

>

> “That’s the system that we’ve got. It has been operating very reliably but

> certainly it’s a case-by-case basis in terms of technology.”

>

> The shutdown – that followed months of chaos on the network last year,

> stemming from an industrial dispute with the state rail union – was seized

> on by the NSW Labor party, with the shadow transport minister, Jo Haylen,

> saying the government had failed to manage the city’s rail network.

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> “The lights were out across Sydney trains but they were also out in the

> retiring transport minister’s office,” she said.

>

> The Greens MP Sue Higginson encouraged those stuck in Sydney’s “train

> chaos” to send their rideshare or taxi receipts to the premier, Dominic

> Perrottet, and the NSW Liberals.

>

> Elliott said the glitch could have occurred under any government. “The

> comments made by the Greens and Labor MPs simply reinforce the point that

> both are desperately trying to score political points from a highly

> operational transport issue,” Elliott said.

>

> “The fact is that this operational issue (glitch in router/modem) could

> and would have occurred under any minister or government. Unless of course

> the Greens and Labor parties know something we all don’t.”

>

> Uber said it had not been alerted by Transport for NSW about the outage,

> and people who were charged above the surge cap would be refunded within 48

> hours.

>

> “While in the past we have been alerted by Transport for NSW when there

> were Sydney-wide transport issues, in this instance we had no warning that

> there would be such a complete outage on the NSW trains network,” the

> spokesperson said.

>

> Uber said that as soon as it became aware of the situation, the company

> had “immediately” lowered the surge and communicated with driver-partners

> encouraging them to come online.

> *... as 2023 gathers pace, we have a small favour to ask.* A new year

> means new opportunities, and we're hoping this year gives rise to some

> much-needed stability and progress. Whatever happens, the Guardian will be

> there, providing clarity and fearless, independent reporting from around

> the world, 24/7.

>

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