Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has hit back at suggestions a piece of ageing equipment hobbled Sydney’s train network last week.
AAP reports that while a confidential TfNSW document uncovered by the Sydney Morning Herald warned trains’ digital radio system components were obsolete, officials identified the culprit as an unrelated router.
The city rail network’s digital train radio system (DTRS), which controls communication between trains and the rail operations centre, failed last Wednesday afternoon, stranding thousands of passengers for over an hour and causing major delays.
In the report, Sydney Trains said it determined in 2021 that parts of the DTRS would become obsolete in the next five years.
“This has been identified as a priority, with funding reallocated to address this and staff training also being considered as a long-term mitigation measure,” it said.
Plans were being made for a broader technology upgrade based on the 5G spectrum, while relying on the old system until the changes could be made.
But in a statement addressing media reports about the obsolescence risk, Transport NSW claimed it applied only to wireless base station components, which did not cause the shutdown.
The faulty component was a router that is readily available on the market and not obsolete.
“The current DTRS has been operating across the rail network in Sydney since 2016 and regular upgrades, including one in March 2023, are a regular part of the ongoing maintenance program, with component spares also held in stock,” the statement read.
“DTRS technology is used widely in railway systems around the world.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet called the outage a “freak incident”.
“These incidents happen from time to time,” he said.
“Transport for NSW did everything they could to get it back on and up and running as soon as they could – and they did in a little over an hour.”
The breakdown stranded 250,000 commuters trying to get home, causing a ripple effect across the city as buses quickly filled up and chaos ensued.
Every Sydney train was parked for 90 minutes, awaiting instructions before getting the all-clear just after 4pm.
Train drivers are reportedly going to get analogue hand-held radios as a backup in case communications are temporarily severed again.
