Local MP puts heat on NSW Transport Minister over non air conditioned trains

15 October 2018

Member for Macquarie Fields, Anoulack Chanthivong MP, has turned up the heat on NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance over non air conditioned trains, demanding that his constituents be given a fair go.

The call comes in the lead-up to what is predicted to be one of the hottest summers on record and is in direct response to constituent complaints of sweltering conditions on trains over many years.   

The situation only worsened after the implementation of the Liberal Government’s unfair timetable in November 2017, with commuters on the T8, T2 and T5 lines being forced onto even more obsolete S-set trains without air conditioning.

With the new Waratah trains due into service soon, and the closure of the Epping-Chatswood line for seven months, Mr Chanthivong has called on the Liberal Government to act urgently to rectify the situation by redeploying the air conditioned trains to local lines. 

“I have this message for the NSW Transport Minister – non air conditioning trains are unbearable, unacceptable and unfair.

“Local commuters have tolerated trains without air conditioning for too long.

“I have written to the NSW Transport Minister on behalf of the thousands of commuters from my electorate who’ve had enough of the sweltering and stifling conditions on our trains. People should not have to travel in carriages as hot as ovens to get to and from work each day.

“I call on the Liberal Government to act now and give us air conditioned trains on the T8, T2 and T5 lines.

“It’s time we were given our fair share and a fair go.”

Mr Chanthivong’s call for air conditioned trains follows an ongoing campaign for a fairer timetable, with local commuters angry and frustrated at daily last-minute train cancellations, trains running consistently late and overcrowded carriages.

To view a copy of Anoulack’s letter to the NSW Transport Minister, click here.