Commuters who use North Sydney, St Leonards, Artarmon and other railway stations on the Lower North Shore will have to use replacement buses over the next 12 months.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the Sydney Rail Repair Plan will require a $97 million maintenance program to bring the network up to standar. Approximately 600,000 weekend passengers will experience disruptions and be required to use replacement buses every weekend for at least the next 12 months.
The review highlighted maintenance backlogs as a key factor behind equipment failures, leading to major service disruptions and stranding thousands of passengers, including three incidents in March this year.
The plan, estimated to cost $97 million, will be funded from existing unspent budgets. It aims to address over 1,900 high-priority defects and carry out approximately 450 kilometres of rail repairs, including grinding and electrical inspections.
The Rail Repair Plan seeks to rectify the maintenance backlogs that have accumulated due to limited track access for maintenance in recent years, extreme weather events, industrial action, and the strain caused by the new timetable introduced in 2017.
By prioritising these repairs, the plan aims to improve the reliability and safety of the rail network, ensuring a more efficient and resilient transportation system for commuters in Sydney.