NSW Trainlink on Tuesday opened its new state-of-the-art Regional Customer Support Centre at Maitland Station to provide 24 hour, seven day a week support to its customers.
State minister for transport and infrastructure Andrew Constance officially opened the new centre.
He said it is equipped to provide up-to-the-minute travel information to customers from the Central Coast, Hunter and the state’s North and North West, and to deal swiftly with safety or service incidents on the network.
“This is the first ever dedicated centre of its kind for the state’s regional train customers,” Constance said. “The support centre will give real-time service updates to customers using station speaker systems, help points and CCTV to help customers with questions or safety concerns.”
In the past, this service was provided to customers remotely from Sydney with the help of a small team in the Hunter with limited technology, Constance explained.
“This new centre is a smarter and safer way of working and means our train customers know they’re being looked after by a team of regional staff located closer to the action.
“By having this new customer centre based in Maitland, staff will be able draw on their local knowledge and contacts to help customers.”
Constance noted the Maitland centre also means if a safety or security incident does occur, NSW TrainLink can work directly with local police commands and other authorities to speed up the response.
Initially the new centre will be trialled for intercity stations on the Central Coast & Newcastle and Hunter Lines, before being expanded to monitor 13 major regional stations including Armidale, Casino, Coffs Harbour, Gloucester, Grafton, Gunnedah, Kempsey, Moree, Murwillumbah, Narrabri, Tamworth, Taree and Wauchope.