The NSW Premier and Emergency Services Minister have introduced a new Czech-built fire tanker for a six-month trial. It comes as concerns grow over worsening train punctuality in Sydney.

Council of the City of Sydney

The New South Wales Premier and Emergency Services Minister have unveiled a new Czech Republic-built rural fire tanker, which will be trialled for six months to bolster firefighting efforts. As preparations for the fire season intensify, attention has also turned to Sydney's rail network, which has experienced its worst on-time performance since 2019, with 16% of suburban trains running late in the last financial year.

The decline in train punctuality has been linked to ongoing pay disputes and has drawn criticism from the opposition, who blame the government for the failures. The Premier has denied that recent job cuts at Transport HQ will impact performance and pointed to a fast-tracked rail maintenance plan as a measure to address the issue. The government acknowledges the need for rapid improvement to avoid further political fallout.

NSW government unveils new fire engine

boys and their big toys. I've never seen a firefighting appliance as big or as intimidating as this one. The Premier and Emergency Services Minister not only debuting a new Rural Fire Service Commissioner. I'm a proud and passionate firefighter. But also a huge Czech Republic built tanker being trialled here for six months. There's no off-season here for us. While preparations are ramping up at the RFS, alarm bells are already ringing on the rails. We have the worst on-time performance on the Sydney network since data started to be collected in 2019. Last financial year, 16% of trains on the suburban network ran late. That's more than five minutes behind schedule. This graph illustrating how punctuality has worsened since the COVID-19 impacted 2021 financial year. This is a massive issue for us. This is not just a set of statistics. This is a set of failure by the Minsk Labor Government. While the Premier doesn't blame the rail union, the data does show that both last financial year and back in 2022, punctuality dropped off as pay disputes dragged on. Chris Minsk doesn't believe the slashing of 950 corporate jobs at Transport HQ will worsen performance, denying the cuts are needed to fund so-called perks, including staff picnic days which have been in union pay deals for more than 15 years. The Premier instead pointing to a fast-tracked rail maintenance plan as one effort to address what threatens to become a political headache. If we don't rapidly improve performance on our railways in the coming months, then voters will send a message to us loud and clear. Lachlan Kennedy, 10 News.

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