There is nothing new about Sydney Trains’ problems, it’s history repeating itself.
Let’s go back to 1974, the NSW Liberal Government Premier, Robert Askin, hired Mr Phillip Shirley, an accountant from England, to be the chief commissioner for the Public Transport Commission, formed in 1972.
Mr Shirley was paid $900 a week.
In 1974, there were the same problems with a new timetable as there are now.
At the time, the Opposition Leader, Neville Wran, said ‘sack all the rail bosses’.
He also said that the new timetable was the last straw, going on to say that the Commission had been a complete failure, and the public was constantly being subjected to a deteriorating public transport system.
Commuters had to put up with dirty trains, late trains and trains that did not arrive at all.
In 1974, a shortage of train staff forced the Commission to cut 50 electric passenger train runs on its new timetable.
The Commission sent confidential memos to train staff, not for publication.
During the 1974 train shortage Robert Askin said “let them walk.”
Now in 2018, the NSW Government has hired a Mr Fix-It for NSW trains, who also comes from England.
His salary is $700,000 a year, or over $13,000 a week, and in 2017, the NSW Government increased his salary by $40,000 a year.
On the other hand, as a driver, he or she has control of a train with hundreds of lives on board.
The drivers face accidents where persons fall off platforms or jump in front of trains.
Many drivers that this has happened to never recover from their ordeal.
Before 1974, Mr Shirley was an understudy to Lord Beeching, as a board member of British Rail.
During their period, they cut rail services, closed stations and cut staff.
On the departure of Beeching and Shirley, British Rail found it necessary to re-open rail lines, open stations, increase the service to the public and employ more staff.
The British Parliament introduced Legislation to direct freight from roads and to rail.
In 1976, NSW voted the Liberal Government out of office, so will history repeat itself?
Letter, Jan 28
Vic Wulf, Gosford