The NSW Government’s policy of buying cheap transport infrastructure from overseas has been thrown into disarray after Transport for NSW admitted that every single tram on the Inner West Light Rail that has undergone recent safety inspections had serious cracking defects.
 
The service will be likely be suspended for at least several weeks, and passengers face the prospect of having to use replacement buses as a substitute for a regular light rail service on the Central - Dulwich Hill line.
 
Trams and drivers on the CBD - Eastern Suburbs light rail line cannot be moved to service the Inner West because the two networks are not integrated and because trams on the CBD - Easter Suburbs line are not compatible with the Inner West line as they have a different wheel profile and are longer.
 
NSW Shadow Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:
 
“This is a damning indictment of the Government’s poor purchasing decisions on transport infrastructure. The overseas built inner west light rail fleet will now be written off for weeks and passengers are the ones paying the price.
 
“The cancellations and delays that passengers will face for weeks are the direct result of this Government’s policies. They can’t hide behind the operator, they bought this overseas built junk and they have only themselves to blame.
 
“Sydneysiders are just beginning to return to work. This is when they need the public transport network the most and they have been badly let down.”