[NSW] OP Trains wrongly described

["Geoff Lillico" <glillic@msn.com.au>]

Had the occasion to catch a train at Town Hall early this afternoon to
return me to Strathfield. The next train was indicated at Town Hall as
Blacktown bound and would be travelling via Olympic Park. The stopping
pattern as far as Strathfield was Central, Redfern, Burwood and Strathfield.
The next stop after Strathfield was indicated as Olympic Park followed by
Lidcombe and whatever after that. Fine.
At Central, Redfern and Burwood the train was correctly indicated and
announced. However upon arrival at Strathfield both the station
announcements and the plasma screen had the train going direct to Olympic
Park and TERMINATING.
Whilst this did not affect me, there were many confused and dismayed
passengers scrambling to alight as they did not wish to be turfed out at OP.
I firstly suggested to the safety jacketed station staff that the train was
wrongly described, but she showed no interest. Upon going down the ramp I
approached the Station Manager, his assistant and others in a group at the
Information Desk and advised that the staff on Platform 6 were not
indicating the train correctly.
The conversation was most polite and I have no corcern with their approach
to me in that respect. However they advised that they indicated these trains
this way to avoid a lack of space for passengers wishing to join at OP to
travel further westwards.

OK I see their point, but this does not help the 300 or so passengers on the
train upon arrival at Strathfield who are faced with a prima facie case of
the usual stuff up of station staff not correctly announcing trains.

If CityRail wants to deter passengers joining these trains who wish to
travel beyond Olympic Park to (1) provide space for passengers joining there
and (2) funnel them on to the faster train following which does not travel
via OP, then these trains should be shown at the stations before Strathfield
as terminating at OP.

Geoff Lillico