Free phone charging at Sydney train stations under Labor election promise

Free mobile phone charging terminals will be installed across more than a dozen Sydney train stations under a NSW Opposition plan.

Charging stations would be rolled out across 15 of Sydney’s busiest train stations if Labor were to win the state election next year, in a similar scheme to one promised by the Andrews government ahead of the 2018 Victorian election.

Phone chargers are already available on some Sydney ferries and the long-delayed intercity train fleet, though Opposition Leader Chris Minns said the move would help encourage more people onto public transport.

“This is a common-sense proposal which is value for money and that’ll make life easier for people travelling on our train network,” he said. “We want to encourage people onto public transport, so our stations need to have those small but important conveniences that make people’s day easier.”

Stations included in the first wave of mobile charging bars include Bankstown, Bondi Junction, Campbelltown, Central and Parramatta. They will be installed in non-ticketed areas, so they are more accessible.

While the service will be free, commuters will be responsible for their phones as they charge.

In Victoria, take-up of the service was strong, with about 9000 phones charged in the first few months.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said the project, anticipated to cost several hundred thousand dollars, was designed to make train stations more appealing places.

“We need to make our train stations into places that support passengers long into the future. They are more than just places where you can get on or off a train,” she said. “We want to get more people off our roads and onto the public transport network and making our stations better places is one of the things we can do to make that happen.”