More rail pain for NSW government

The NSW government is under fire over a report revealing a record number of transport complaints. Source: AAP

THE NSW government has come under fire after a report revealed a record number of complaints against Railcorp and a drop in the overall number of on-time trains.

The Auditor-General's NSW transport report, released on Wednesday, found complaints about on-time running were up almost 18 per cent on 2011.

On the roads, the report also shows there's little joy for Sydney's road commuters, as average speeds slowed on five of the city's seven major roads.

Afternoon peak-hour speeds on the M2 Lane Cove Tunnel/Gore Hill freeway dropped from 60km/h down to 52km/h in the space of 12 months.

Auditor-general Peter Archterstraat said only nine of the state's 16 rail networks achieved 92 per cent the on-time running target, down from 14 previously.

The East Hills, South, Western, Northern via Strathfield, South Coast, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, Hunter and Newcastle and Central Coast lines are all operating below the 92 per cent target, according to the report.

Complaints about hygiene have increased by 26 per cent, with 35 complaints lodged every week.

Opposition Transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said during eight peak hour periods in the past year, less than 60 per cent of the network operated on time, with train reliability at its lowest level in four years, .

Commuters were being charged up to $156 extra in fares each year, a figure that is set to increase again from January 1.

"Trains are getting later, dirtier and more crowded under Barry O'Farrell," Ms Sharpe said in a statement.

Greens MP and transport spokesperson Cate Faehrmann said critical infrastructure decisions were being made according to the government's privatisation agenda, rather than in the best interests of the community.

She said NSW has been sent down a risky path by committing to a public private partnership (PPP) to build the North West Rail Link.

"We've had a series of failed transport PPPs in NSW and now the auditor-general himself has raised serious concerns - we can't afford to stuff up public transport infrastructure because of this government's ideological obsession with privatising public services," Ms Faerhmann said in a statement.

NRMA Spokesman Peter Khoury said the slowing of commutes for Sydney drivers shows that as the economic hub of Australia, Sydney should be doing better instead of stifling businesses.

"The longer it takes to deliver goods and services, the harder it is to make a buck," he said.

"It's not the way to run an economy. It's not the way to run a city."

Mr Khoury said the report showed the NSW government needed to increase spending on roads, developing the WestConnex project and completing upgrades to the M2 and M5.

"Decades of neglect has resulted in making life harder for commuters, but if we do finish projects that are on the drawing board and continue to improve public transport then we will see a substantial improvement in how Sydney moves around," he said.

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