00:02After all that fanfare last week, the timetable is staying as is, much to the relief of passengers in the
00:09Shire.
00:10I'm glad they abandoned it. It's fine the way it is.
00:13The government promised more frequent and more reliable trains on the T4, T8 and South Coast lines.
00:19I feel like they really neglect the T4.
00:22They're not very reliable but it is what it is.
00:25While some passengers would spend less time waiting on platforms,
00:28others would spend more time on the trains themselves.
00:31The trade off was longer travel times. That is not an easy message to sell.
00:36The truth of the matter is, since we released the train timetable,
00:40I haven't run into anybody who supported the change.
00:42The overhaul would have untangled the eastern suburbs in Illawarra and South Coast lines,
00:47so a hold up at Bondi Junction doesn't cause delays in Wollongong.
00:51But the plan to bypass Walleye Creek would have meant less direct airport trips from the south
00:56and it would have been harder for T8 travellers to get on the Metro with the removal of Sydenham as
01:01a stop.
01:02What a humiliating backflip for Chris Minns. He wants slower services for the Shire of St George.
01:08Labor was going to add over an hour extra in commuting to Shire commuters each week.
01:13I'd rather apologise and backflip on a policy like this than implement a change that people don't want.
01:19The Premier pulled the pin after meeting with some of his own MPs,
01:23whose constituents had reacted angrily to the timetable changes.
01:27Including in marginal Labor seats like East Hills and Heathcote,
01:31as well as Oatley, which the Liberals hold by a whisker.
01:34Well, it's certainly a political decision. What we have is Labor can't get it right.
01:37Both sides clearly aware that commuters vote as the election express gathers pace.
