Off the shelf option means Sydney’s new ferries don’t fit

Ten new Sydney ferries will not be able to pass under two bridges on the Parramatta River if commuters are seated on the top deck, the government has confirmed.

The new River Class ferries, which have been built in Indonesia and shipped to Australia, are due to enter service on Sydney Harbour later this year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Passengers seated on the top deck will need to be called below before the new ferries can pass under the Camellia Railway Bridge and the Gasworks Bridge near Parramatta.

A street view of Gasworks Bridge at Parramatta.

“While customers are able to enjoy the upper deck during their commute, they will need to move to the lower deck when passing the bridge,” a Transport for NSW spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Opposition transport spokesman, Chris Minns, says the “fiasco” poses a safety risk and will cost transport workers time to police.

“Unless [NSW Transport Minister] Andrew Constance himself is going to yell ‘duck’ as these ferries pass under bridges, this looks to be a huge time waste for ferry staff,” Minns says.

The TfNSW spokeswoman says the government and ferry operator Transdev were aware of the issue when the vessels were ordered, and pointed to some charter boats that have a viewing deck that also experience the issue.

But ferry expert, Graeme Taylor, from Action for Public Transport, says most charter vessels didn’t venture to Parramatta as much as the new ferries would need to.

“They bought an off-the-shelf option, so the thing doesn’t fit properly,” Taylor says.

“[People] would be severed from the waist up, at high tide it’s a matter of centimetres.”

The government says the ferry operator will implement “operational procedures” to remove people from the top deck before it reaches the low-lying bridges, including signage, announcements and crew directing commuters.

The new vessels have capacity for 200, including 122 indoor seats, 18 outdoor seats on the lower deck and 10 seats on the upper deck.

The ferries will be added to circulation with the existing River Cats, which seat 230. They will replace the SuperCats, HarbourCats and four charter vessels that are supplementing regular services.