Austinmer commuters are considering giving up on catching the train at their local station and driving to Thirroul and adding to parking congestion there.
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This is because, while they can get to work easier via a morning service that stops at Austinmer, there aren’t enough evening services to get them home again.
The government carried out what was a successful three-month trial of 10 express stops at Austinmer – five in the morning and five in the evening.
Earlier this month the government announced four of them would become permanent – but only one was in the evening.
This is on top of a pre-existing Austinmer evening express stop made by the 5.46pm train from Central.
Several Austinmer residents have written to Keira MP Ryan Park saying there is no point in catching an express train at Austinmer in the morning if they can’t get back there in the evening.
“This will undo the positive impact on the parking situation at Thirroul, as commuters will not leave from Austinmer if they cannot return,” one Austinmer resident wrote.
“The extra stop in Austinmer is completely without impact on the journey time.”
Another resident wrote that having only one evening stop made using Austinmer station impossible for her.
“I am a working mother trying to balance childcare arrangements while commuting to Sydney,” she said.
“The changes to the timetable will mean that I can no longer commute from Austinmer, and will have to drive to Thirroul to ensure I can get home in time to pick up my children from childcare.”
Mr Park said it was “very disappointing” that only one of the five trial stops at Austinmer in the evening had been retained.
“The Government has missed this important opportunity to provide a reliable and meaningful daily rail service for commuters who will now have fewer options to ensure they arrive back at the same station they departed from in the morning,” Mr Park said.
Transport for NSW was contacted for comment on the story but did not reply by deadline.