Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

A carefully-worded announcement on 23 October 2014 clearly acknowledges that there is a shortfall in capacity. A news release by the Minister states in part:

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced light rail would have 50 per cent more capacity than the 9,000 passengers per hour previously planned... ... with the NSW Government future-proofing the light rail network for decades to come, to cater for Sydney's future economic and population growth. "The preferred bidder's proposal offers an innovative, world class solution that will deliver a huge win for public transport customers, with reduced crowding on the light rail service and more capacity to cater for future demand," Ms Berejiklian said. "The proposal offers services that from day one carry up to 15 per cent more light rail passengers in peak hours, and 33 per cent more seats across the day. "As I have said previously, the biggest challenge for this project is meeting the high demand from customers who are expected to choose light rail over buses, private vehicles and other transport options. "The preferred bidder has responded to this challenge with a proposal that ultimately has the potential to carry over 50 per cent more than the 9,000 passengers per hour in each direction previously announced by the government."

The belated acknowledgement is welcome even though its terms are less than clear. The expression "would have 50 per cent more capacity" in the first quoted paragraph seems to say something different from "ultimately has the potential to carry over 50 per cent more" in the last.

APTNSW has been told that precisely how any increase in capacity will be gained, whether by larger vehicles, more frequent services, or anything else, will be revealed later this year.