Sydney trains industrial action, delays could shift public opinion ...
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Public transport experts say continued industrial action on Sydney's train network could shift public opinion in favour of driverless trains, as some action is paused on the city's rail network today.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has postponed planned industrial action for Wednesday for 48 hours after reaching an agreement with the state government.
The union had threatened to slow trains to 23 kilometres per hour below the speed limit in 80kph zones for two weeks from midnight.
Separate action by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) will take place between 8am and 4pm, when some Sydney Trains employees will take part in rolling hourly "work stoppages".
Experts say continued industrial action could impact the public's opinion of driverless trains. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)
NSW Transport Minister John Graham said the government, with the union, had agreed to delay the RTBU's "go slow" action for two days.
"This agreement was reached as part of ongoing discussions," Mr Graham said in a statement.
"Passengers of Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink should continue to check travel apps."
Toby Warnes says the action will recommence if an agreement is not reached. (ABC News)
RTBU NSW secretary Toby Warnes said while no deal had been reached, the NSW government had agreed to discuss the issue.
"The government has now offered to withdraw their legal notices for 48 hours to enable some clear air for negotiations to take place," Mr Warnes said.
"This is not a withdrawal of action and should these next two days not lead to agreement in principle, the 'go slow' will recommence.
"We're hopeful however that common-sense will soon prevail and we'll be able to finally reach an agreement."
Industrial action could have 'perverse' impact
University of Sydney senior lecturer in transport management Geoffrey Clifton said the dispute had the potential to shift public opinion in favour of driverless trains.
"It's actually going to have a perverse impact," Dr Clifton said.
"The longer this dispute drags on, the less sympathy passengers will have for the public transport unions and it will also start to negatively impact the government."
Thousands of train services were delayed or cancelled between January 15 and 17 after the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and RTBU launched separate rounds of industrial action.
Dr Clifton said any further industrial action would reduce community confidence in Sydney's public transport.
"If you're going to travel late at night you need to have a reliable public transport service and a lot of Sydneysiders have a reliable transport service in the form of a car sitting at home in the garage," Dr Clifton said.
"So if the public transport network's not reliable they'll be switching over to their cars."