Changing signs of time for commuters

This was published 7 years ago

Changing signs of time for commuters

Sydney's train lines and major bus and ferry routes are to get new names.

The new names, or codes, are aimed at making it easier for travellers unfamiliar with an area to know which bus, train or ferry to catch.

F for ferry: New signs guide travellers at Milsons Point wharf.

F for ferry: New signs guide travellers at Milsons Point wharf.Credit:Dean Sewell

Under the system, which is being trialled at Milsons Point, train lines will be coded with a "T" and then a number; major bus routes will be coded a "B" and then a number; and ferry routes a "F" and a number.

But the government declined to elaborate which train lines will get what number or how many bus routes will be renamed.

T for train line: The coding system aims to simplify Sydney's public transport.

T for train line: The coding system aims to simplify Sydney's public transport.Credit:Dean Sewell

The intention of the system, which is being developed by the new customer service division inside Transport for NSW, is to narrow down and simplify Sydney's at times bewildering array of public transport services and routes.

The regular train line names - such as the Western Line, Northern Line, North Shore Line, Eastern Suburbs Line - will remain in use, particularly for commuters accustomed to the terminology.

But the aim of the new coding system, the government says, is more about making it easier for people to plan trips they are not used to.

For instance, under one example nominated by the government, a commuter or tourist planning a trip on an app would be told to catch a train on T2 to one station and change to a B40 bus.

Out with the old: Signage at a North Sydney bus stop.

Out with the old: Signage at a North Sydney bus stop.Credit:Dean Sewell

At Milsons Point signs have been installed depicting the station as being on T1 line. This could mean that the North Shore Line, which extends south of the harbour as the Western Line, will be known as T1.

The next stations to have their signs changed in the next few months will be Martin Place and Circular Quay.

"Customers often complain about the inconsistent signage on the network today, with signs that are confusing, incorrect or clutter platforms," said Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian, who has already released a common "hop" symbol to be used across all public transport forms. "This is a legacy of a transport system that has more than 40,000 individual bus and light rail stops, ferry wharves and train stations and up until we established Transport for NSW each individual mode operated in a silo with their own signs and way of doing things," she said.

The new codes would apply to Metro buses, whose routes are now preceded by an "M". Under the planned changes, the "M" would become a "B". Some other routes are also likely to have their numbers changed, but it is unclear how many.

"In regard to buses, it would be major routes that would be allocated a reference, not every single local service," Ms Berejiklian said.


The incoming head of Sydney Trains, the new organisation to run rail in the city, has said that he wanted to make signage clearer for CBD stations.

Howard Collins, who has been the head of the London Tube, said he had noticed that tourists found it hard in Sydney to identify train stations and know which line to catch.

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