The NSW government has made a "once and for all" offer to end a years-long stoush with the rail union which has resulted in industrial action causing chaos for commuters.
Transport Minister David Elliott made a $264 million offer to fix a fleet of trains that has been at the centre of the dispute with the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU).
The New Inter-City Fleet (NIF), meant to travel from Sydney to Lithgow, Kiama and the Central Coast, arrived in Sydney in 2020 but has been sitting in storage since.
RTBU members have refused to operate the trains, claiming that, in their current form, guards cannot adequately monitor platforms and check that gaps are clear from the new trains to ensure passenger safety.
The government has maintained they are safe, with the fleet receiving accreditation from the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator.
But, after a long-running stalemate and protracted industrial action, the government has said it will make the modifications, beginning in August, for $264 million.
Mr Elliott said he wanted the union to wind back its industrial action from Friday.
"The NSW government will expect the union to act in good faith," he said today.
"We will be providing them with the terms of the negotiations that have been settled today over the course of the afternoon … my expectation is we see our public transport system running as usual from Friday.
"But the cost of this industrial action, the cost to the NSW economy, the inconvenience to the commuters has to be front of mind when it comes to running public transport in this state."
The government has also agreed to original negotiations on pay and allowances.
Most recently, a breakdown in talks over the safety issue prompted the RTBU to take industrial action this week, with trains running slower than 60 kilometres an hour on Tuesday.
On Friday, drivers are planning to only operate about 30 per cent of the existing fleet, meaning only about 25 per cent of rail services will run.
RTBU secretary Alex Claassens said the union was waiting on the physical offer and would meet with transport officials and delegates before making a decision on Friday's industrial action.
"Once or twice in the past we've had these offers and then they've walked away from [them]," he said.
"At this stage, a verbal commitment from our minister at the moment is great, but we need to do a lot more work yet to make sure everybody is comfortable."
