Rail history at Central Station

Visitors will also have the chance to inspect a pay bus, a bizarre 1930s rail vehicle used to deliver wages to staff and maintenance crews until the 1980s

For more information about Sydney rail transport click here.

The pay bus was beautifully restored by apprentices in the Apprentice Training Annexe at Eveleigh in Redfern. But the future of the apprentices and many of their RailCorp colleagues is uncertain under massive restructuring happening within the organisation. About 40 per cent of station staff at Redfern station are to be moved elsewhere, and Central station is to lose up to 100 front-line staff.

Redfern is one of the busiest stations in the network and is considered one of the most dangerous. Locals have strongly opposed the staff cuts and have been calling for station upgrades for many years.

RailCorp has justified the changes as a means of improving efficiency and flexibility without immediate job losses. RailCorp has said the staff will not be cut but moved elsewhere.

Meanwhile at Eveleigh, Rail Tram and Bus Union workshop organiser Michael Farhat said jobs were dwindling within RailCorp and not all apprentices would find a position within the organisation.

Many new contracts for the supply of train carriages included private maintenance contracts, he said, which limited the number of maintenance jobs available within the public employer.

Mr Farhat said the State Government’s increasing push toward privatisation meant that by the end of the year, about 25 per cent of non-trades and a significant number of trades would be lost.

He said the move toward privatisation began 15 years ago and now, apprentices in the car maintenance division conducted only 25 per cent of the work.

“The Government thinks it will be cheaper to privatise but it has been proved that it’s not. Reports show that our staff are doing a better job, and also in maintaining on-time running.’’

Mr Farhat said staff hoped that they would know their fate before the end of the year. “The Government is going through a review as we speak. Other trades and non-trades, electricians, painters, engineers, will decline in the very near future.’’

Unions and workers will meet with Government representatives this week.

The heritage rail weekend at Central runs between 10am and 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Source: http://sydney-central.whereilive.com.au/news/story/rail-history-at-central-station/