BREAKING NEWSSydney Trains strike: Network to shut down on Friday: What you need to know

Sydney trains will run on Thursday after a small concession from the rail union to delay strike action until Friday, amid an ongoing wage dispute with the government.

A months-long dispute between the NSW government and the state branch of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union escalated on Tuesday when Transport Minister Jo Haylen announced no train services would run for four days.

The rail union has been increasing work bans and threatening to strike if 24-hour services weren’t available on those four days.

But early on Wednesday morning Transport for NSW said it had agreed with the union to run services on Thursday, a relief for Pearl Jam concertgoers who would have had to find alternative transport to Sydney Olympic Park in the evening.

But Both parties were unable to agree on the union’s demands for a 24-hour train service and a 32 per cent pay increase over four years. 

‘The union has agreed to run a regular train service on Thursday, including the planned 86 additional special event services to Olympic Park for the Pearl Jam concert,’ a statement from Transport NSW said.

‘At this stage the RTBU has not agreed to lift their industrial action they have planned for Friday through to Sunday. 

‘The notified bans in place by the union will bring the heavy rail network to a shutdown on Friday, Saturday, and through until Sunday morning this weekend.

‘Sydney Trains and NSW Trains remain committed to finding a resolution for our workforce this side of Christmas.’

Ms Haylen is hoping the concession will give the union and the government more time to come to an agreement before the weekend.

‘It gives us another day to continue our negotiations and hopefully get people where they need to go,’ she told Sydney radio 2GB.

‘But the union industrial action is still planned for Friday and Saturday and we know that’s going to have a massive impact on millions of people who rely on these train services.

‘We want to keep our city moving. No one wants this. Passengers don’t want this. I don’t want this. The government doesn’t want this.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen hopes the concession will allow time to come to an agreement before the weekend

‘But the only way to keep trains running and to get people where they need to go is for the union to lift its industrial action.’

More than one million people use Sydney trains on a typical day, while the ban is also expected to affect inter-city services.

The disruptions are set to impact passengers travelling to and from Newcastle, The Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands and the Illawarra. 

The Sydney Metro from Chatswood in the north to Sydenham in the inner west is also closed for maintenance on the weekend, with Transport for NSW advising commuters to ‘use train services’. 

Extra bus and other services will be rolled out, but the shutdown will strain the capacity of replacement transport.

Commuters are being urged to find alternative transport where possible and allow for extra travel time. 

The pay stand-off comes after services were run around the clock over the previous weekend to ward off stop-work bans.

NSW Transport officials said continuing services around the clock from Thursday to Sunday was not sustainable.

The RTBU is trying to force the Minns government into reducing the weekly working hours of rail workers and to give them a 32 per cent pay rise over four years.

‘We saw last weekend the government [ran] 24-hour public transport in Sydney very successfully. We see really no reason why it can’t do so this weekend,’ RTBU secretary Toby Warnes told ABC TV’s News Breakfast.

‘The announcement by the Transport Minister I think shocked us as much as it shocked everyone yesterday afternoon.’

The government has offered rail workers a wage increase of 9.5 per cent over three years, which has been rejected by the union.