More than 200 Sydney train workers have stayed home and hundreds of services have been cancelled as industrial action causes chaos on the city’s rail network.
The NSW government said 210 trains workers have not reported to their shift so far this morning, and 335 train services have been cancelled.
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said about 90 per cent of services were operating normally but warned the situation remained “unpredictable”.
Mr Longland said there were “minor” delays on the Central Coast through to Gosford due to an unrelated incident, and delays on the Hunter line between Maitland and Newcastle.
“Other lines are holding up well at this stage, but again we may well see delays increase as the afternoon progresses.”
Transport Minister John Graham told the ABC that while services would be running to the timetable, there will still be some delays and cancellations.
He urged parents to find alternative travel options for children heading to school this morning.
“Particularly for kids of school age, we’re encouraging parents to find a different way to get them to school to move them around the city, that’s the make sure that they do make it to their final destination,” Mr Graham said.
“We’re encouraging people to continue to check the apps and we’ll update regularly update after.”
It comes after the NSW government lost its latest bid at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Sunday to stop industrial action by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU).
The government accused the union of a “coordinated effort” to cripple the network and its members of using sick leave inappropriately, arguing that the no-shows amounted to unprotected industrial action, and were hence unlawful.
However, the commission found there was no evidence that Friday’s actions were coordinated by the RTBU.
