Sydney’s strained rail workforce was aided in 2018 by its biggest annual growth in train crewing, with 360 new drivers and guards now working on the network.
Transport minister Andrew Constance on Tuesday announced a 64 per cent increase in new recruits in the past 12 months, with 125 new train drivers and 235 new guards graduating from the operator’s training program.
“This is a fantastic outcome and is a result of the huge interest we’ve had from people who can see a long-term future in being a train driver or guard,” Collins said.
“It’s also a testament to the hard work Sydney Trains staff have done in the past 18 months to attract and recruit quality candidates.”
Workforce issues were at the centre of a service crisis in 2018, which the worker’s union claimed was a result of the government’s heavy reliance on overtime to support its new timetable.
Constance this week said the operator had to respond to unprecedented growth in demand, with 404 million journeys made in 2018 – a third more than the 300 million journeys made in 2013.
“This [demand] will increase by another 21 per cent by 2021, so the more drivers and guards we recruit today, the better we will be to cope with this growth,” the minister said.
Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins was particularly pleased with the number of women added to the operator’s driving and guard ranks.
Women accounted for 18 per cent of total driver graduates in 2018, compared to 9 per cent in 2017. The share of female guard graduates rose from 24 to 28 per cent. The operator now has 96 female drivers and 210 female guards.
“In an industry that has been historically dominated by men, female drivers and guards are breaking down these barriers and showing they have the skills and experience to succeed in this field,” Collins said.