Road trip - Dubbo to Broken Hill

Meeting our staff based in regional NSW has been high on my to-do list for a while. Last week, I got to do that when I headed out to Dubbo and Broken Hill.

We planned the trip so I could meet up along the way with Pete Allaway, Chief Operating Officer, NSW TrainLink and Ken Kanofski, Chief Executive, Roads and Maritime.

First stop was Dubbo. Pete and I spent the day meeting lots of people including our Dubbo Station staff, a diverse bunch who really value each other and what they’re doing for our customers. We then went to the RMS Heavy Vehicle Compliance base to receive a briefing on the important and critical compliance checking and enforcement work they are doing to keep our state roads safe. Then we made our way to our Dubbo office which is shared between TfNSW and RMS staff. Thanks to everyone for a very friendly welcome and for taking time to have a chat – I look forward to the next visit.

Later that day we took the 9-hour TrainLink coach journey – all 756kms of it – from Dubbo to Broken Hill. It turned out to be an unexpected highlight of the trip!

I got to see firsthand how our customers travel around the region and hear how important our services are to communities. I was also very pleased to witness the high quality customer service, energy and pride in the work of the NSW TrainLink teams along the way.

In Broken Hill we met with Station Manager Pooja from NSW TrainLink along with the local Mayor and other councillors and community leaders to celebrate the station’s 61st birthday. During that day we also met local mining, tourism and freight industry stakeholders and the city council General Manager to discuss the transport issues and challenges a remote regional city like Broken Hill is facing. Many have a keen interest in the progress of our Future Transport 2056 Strategy and the changes it will bring.

On my last day in Broken Hill, Ken introduced me to the RMS teams at the local District Office and Depot. There was a lot of talk about major road projects they’re delivering including the Silver City and Cobb Highway upgrade. We also joined a team BBQ to celebrate their excellent safety record – one of the best in RMS – and the longest serving team members – some who have served over 40 years.

Overall I got a good feel for some of the challenges of working in remote communities, and the passion our people have for what they do.

Big thanks to Nick Berry from TfNSW for helping us out with the stakeholder meetings and Tiffany Glasgow and her team from NSW TrainLink, for their work in Dubbo and Broken Hill. Also to everyone who helped behind the scenes to put together a very rewarding trip full of insights.

I’ll be doing more road trips to the regions soon so stay tuned…

Meeting our staff based in regional NSW has been high on my to-do list for a while. Last week, I got to do that when I headed out to Dubbo and Broken Hill.

We planned the trip so I could meet up along the way with Pete Allaway, Chief Operating Officer, NSW TrainLink and Ken Kanofski, Chief Executive, Roads and Maritime.

First stop was Dubbo. Pete and I spent the day meeting lots of people including our Dubbo Station staff, a diverse bunch who really value each other and what they’re doing for our customers. We then went to the RMS Heavy Vehicle Compliance base to receive a briefing on the important and critical compliance checking and enforcement work they are doing to keep our state roads safe. Then we made our way to our Dubbo office which is shared between TfNSW and RMS staff. Thanks to everyone for a very friendly welcome and for taking time to have a chat – I look forward to the next visit.

Later that day we took the 9-hour TrainLink coach journey – all 756kms of it – from Dubbo to Broken Hill. It turned out to be an unexpected highlight of the trip!

I got to see firsthand how our customers travel around the region and hear how important our services are to communities. I was also very pleased to witness the high quality customer service, energy and pride in the work of the NSW TrainLink teams along the way.

In Broken Hill we met with Station Manager Pooja from NSW TrainLink along with the local Mayor and other councillors and community leaders to celebrate the station’s 61st birthday. During that day we also met local mining, tourism and freight industry stakeholders and the city council General Manager to discuss the transport issues and challenges a remote regional city like Broken Hill is facing. Many have a keen interest in the progress of our Future Transport 2056 Strategy and the changes it will bring.

On my last day in Broken Hill, Ken introduced me to the RMS teams at the local District Office and Depot. There was a lot of talk about major road projects they’re delivering including the Silver City and Cobb Highway upgrade. We also joined a team BBQ to celebrate their excellent safety record – one of the best in RMS – and the longest serving team members – some who have served over 40 years.

Overall I got a good feel for some of the challenges of working in remote communities, and the passion our people have for what they do.

Big thanks to Nick Berry from TfNSW for helping us out with the stakeholder meetings and Tiffany Glasgow and her team from NSW TrainLink, for their work in Dubbo and Broken Hill. Also to everyone who helped behind the scenes to put together a very rewarding trip full of insights.

I’ll be doing more road trips to the regions soon so stay tuned…

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Page published: 18 Jun 2018, 04:16 PM