But for other commuters who rely heavily on trains, especially those traveling long distances, the disruption will be worse, she said.
The Eastern Suburban and Illawarra Lines and the affected South Coastline connect Bondi Junction with Bomadelly south of Wollongong.
Sydney Trains said a “very limited” number of buses had been arranged to replace the trains, running approximately every 30 minutes.
The workers’ stop ends at 4pm, but rail operators are advising commuters to have plenty of time to spare until train operations gradually return to normal. The timetable is expected to be fully operational around 8pm.
Railroad workers and the government show little sign of ending the stalemate over union demands for changes to state intercity train carriages and new wage agreements.
A meeting with New South Wales Transport Minister David Elliott and rail union leaders scheduled for Tuesday was postponed until late Thursday because the minister was ill.
Unless an agreement is reached, commuters will face major disruption on the T3 Bankstown, T8 Airport, South and Southern Highlands lines on August 17, with a further six-hour stop by workers scheduled.
The platform at Bondi Junction station was devoid of people after 9am on Wednesday.credit:Rhett Wyman
The following week, August 23rd, the outage will stop both the T1 North Shore and Western Lines, the T9 Northern Line, the Blue Mountains Line, the Central Coast Line and the Newcastle Line.
On August 25th, the City Circle line will stop, and on August 31st, railway workers will refuse to run foreign-made trains. Foreign-made trains make up about three-quarters of the state’s rolling stock.
Wednesday’s resumption of major protected industrial action follows weeks of disruption to the rail network in June and early last month.
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The New South Wales government suffered an embarrassing defeat early last month when it tried to stop unions from taking industrial action across Sydney’s rail network.
On July 9, the Fair Work Commission rejected the government’s proposal to suspend industrial action for 10 weeks, rejecting “baffling” claims that it was damaging the state’s economy.
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