MP Greg Warren says the decision by NSW transport minister Andrew Constance to boast about the removal of non-air-conditioned S-Sets in mid-2019 was rubbing salt into the wounds of already frustrated local commuters.
“The minister’s announcement – on day one of a week-long heat wave – was a cheap media stunt made in front of a couple of S-Sets that had been decommissioned and crushed, while countless other S-sets were still operating on the Campbelltown line,’’ says the member for Campbelltown.
Mr Warren, pictured above, said the minister’s words would provide no comfort – both emotionally and physically – to commuters who were forced to ride on an S-Set train this week during the heat wave.
He pointed out that In June 2014, then Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian also promised commuters that they would not have to endure the experience of catching a non-air-conditioned train again.
Mr Warren’s office even found her quote from that day, on June 3, 2014: “For too long customers have complained about travelling in trains without air-conditioning. It was one of the biggest gripes our customers had and now I’m pleased that the days of sitting in a hot train in summer or a cold train in winter are over,” she said.
Five sweltering summers and five freezing winters later, Campbelltown commuters are still being forced to board S-Sets to get to and from work, says Mr Warren – “proof that the Berejiklian Government could not be trusted.
“Recent analysis of the Sydney Trains timetable showed that a minimum of four S-Sets in the morning and four S-Sets in the afternoon travelled along the T8 line during peak periods,’’ he said.
“Despite the heat, Mr Constance’s photo opportunity deserves a frosty reception from my constituents in Campbelltown,’’ Mr Warren said.
