Tuesday 4 April 2006

Priority testing for asbestos at CityRail stations has been completed. Following the discovery of asbestos at Eastwood in early March, RailCorp identified 65 stations where asbestos material may have been disturbed by recent contract work.

The area where work was undertaken has now been checked in all of these stations and results are now pending for just one station – Artarmon.

At Summer Hill Station traces of asbestos were found in dust and so facilities, including the booking office, were closed to allow remedial works to be undertaken. Station staff are on hand to assist passengers to purchase tickets from the ticket vending machines.

Although the priority testing is now complete RailCorp will continue to undertake remedial works as required and will keep our customers, staff and WorkCover fully informed.

Staff recently reported concerns about possible asbestos at Belmore and due to positive test results there the staff facilities have also been closed. Air quality tests at both Belmore and Summer Hill stations were clear.

An asbestos hotline for staff has been established to allow employees to report any concerns they have about asbestos or to seek advice from expert hygienists.

Following completion of the priority testing program RailCorp is developing a staged plan for a comprehensive assessment of all station and building assets and will update its asbestos register accordingly. This process could take up to 12 months to complete to ensure all assets are carefully assessed.

The wellbeing of customers and staff will continue to be RailCorp's priority.