New late night CityRail Guardian services

Minister for Transport John Robertson today announced CityRail will implement new late night ‘Guardian’ train carriages on Friday and Saturday nights from next month to help passengers feel safer catching the train home late at night.

From the weekend of 15.-16 October, one Guardian service each Friday and Saturday night will operate late at night on the each of the following lines: the Central Coast, East Hills, South, South Coast, Western and Newcastle lines.

“The safety and security of passengers is my number one priority,” Mr Robertson said.

“New Guardian services will involve extra security measures including additional Transit Officers and monitoring of onboard CCTV cameras.

“Transit Officers will travel on-board for the duration of each Guardian service and work closely with the train crew and station staff to provide a reassuring, highly visible presence for customers.

“Officers will also close off some carriages on the train, meaning passengers won’t be sitting on a carriage alone or with just one or two people.

“Guardian services are being introduced on Friday and Saturday nights for passengers who want to stay in the city and enjoy themselves responsibly and catch a train home safely.

“Specific Friday and Saturday night train services will be identified as Guardian services based on customer feedback about when they are most likely to be utilised for late night journeys home from the city.

“Guardian services will be marked with a ‘G’ on the timetable online. “These specific services are what people have identified as the most suitable – but CityRail will consider altering them if it receives feedback from the community.

“One service a night for each line will be earmarked as ‘Guardian’ to ensure other services continue to have a strong security presence too.

“In addition to the Guardian services, CityRail staff and security guards will be present at Hub stations along each line each Friday and Saturday night when the services arrive.

“These stations – which will be main stations or interchanges – will be convenient drop-off and collection points for customers who use the Guardian service.

“Since Transit Officers were introduced to the CityRail network in 2002, there’s been a 30 per cent decrease in the number of crimes against a person on rail premises.

“This shows the crime prevention strategies CityRail is using are working, but I expect CityRail to do everything it can to make people feel as safe as possible on our trains – through initiatives such as Guardian services.

Mr Robertson said Guardian services will come online with the new 10 October timetable for the Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra, and South Coast Lines.

“Guardian services were trialled on the rail network earlier this year, with excellent feedback from passengers,” he said.

“There are more than 8700 CCTV cameras across the CityRail network and a 24-hour Rail Security Control Centre with the capability to live-monitor this technology.

“The introduction of Guardian services is another initiative to further improve safety on the rail network.”

The Guardian service timetable and information about Hub stations is available on www.cityrail.info/guardian.