Transport for NSW has announced plans to build a $276 million operations centre for Sydney Trains at Green Square.
Transport minister Andrew Constance said the new ‘rail nerve centre’ would be built aimed at reducing train delays and providing faster information to customers.
“This new centre will ultimately improve train reliability for customers and when there are delays, information will be communicated much more quickly,” Constance said.
“This is a massive commitment to a transformational project that will help ensure Sydney Trains can continue to improve the service it provides to customers.”
TfNSW said it looked at similar facilities in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo to ensure the design of the building incorporates the latest technology to improve train services.
Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins said the organisation’s performance has been held back in recent years by outdated technology, and having to respond manually to incidents.
“At the moment we manage the trains and tracks, respond to incidents, communicate with customers and monitor their safety from different locations and in different ways,” Collins explained.
“One example is that during an incident, there are multiple phone calls made between the person reporting the incident, the person who controls the trains, another party in charge of fixing the fault and then the response team in the field.
“The new centre will mean each of these parties are informed the moment the issue is reported because they will all be in the same location, receiving more information, they can ensure the best response to get our customers moving again.”
The facility is set to open in 2018, according to TfNSW.