Broken promises ... Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian at Chatswood train station,where thousands of disembarking commuters will be unable to get on city-bound trains already operating at capacity.Credit:Janie Barrett
Thousands of commuters disembarking at Chatswood will be unable to get on city-bound trains already operating at capacity. And passengers getting off the north-west trains may struggle to fit on the crowded platform at Chatswood.
With an''optimised''timetable for the north-west rail link,more than 40 per cent of peak-hour passengers transferring to the city at Chatswood will be unable to get on the next service because it will be too crowded,according to analysis commissioned by Transport for NSW and obtained by theHerald.
Further,more than 15 per cent of them will be unable to fit on the next two citybound trains on the north shore line.
The analysis was commissioned and done just before the Premier,Barry O'Farrell,and the Transport Minister,Gladys Berejiklian,announced the new model for the north-west rail link on June 20.
Last night Ms Berejiklian said one of two environmental impact statements required for the link has received planning approval.
Under the model,the line will be built and run by a private operator rather than RailCorp. Transport for NSW hired consultants from the engineering firm Arup to look at whether Chatswood Station could cope with the passengers transferring to citybound trains.
Arup modelled what would happen if one peak-hour train on the north shore line was cancelled which,on RailCorp's record,would happen about once a fortnight. In this case,62 per cent of north-west rail link passengers would not fit on the first train to the city. Almost 40 per cent would not fit on the second train. More than 20 per cent of passengers - about 1900 people - would have to wait for a fourth,fifth or sixth train. In this scenario there would be''extreme difficulties to alight and to enter the platform from stair'',a summary of the analysis says.