Transport for NSW

Predecessor transport departments

Creation of Transport for NSW

After winning the 2011 state election, the new Liberal–Nationals government under Barry O'Farrell renamed the transport department from Transport NSW back to Department of Transport.^[21] Later that year, in November 2011, the Transport for NSW was formed as a government agency and subsumed the Transport Construction Authority and the Country Rail Infrastructure Authority, and took over the planning and coordination functions of RailCorp, the State Transit Authority and Roads and Maritime Services from the Department of Transport.^[22] It also absorbed the functions, assets and liabilities of Sydney Metro Authority, Public Transport Ticketing Corporation as well as some functions from the NSW Department of Planning & Infrastructure.^[23] Howard Collins OBE, the former head of Sydney Trains appointed in 2013, is credited with remodelling the transport system after Transport for London.^[24][25]

The entities that were under Transport for NSW upon its creation, as underlined in the Transport Legislation Amendment Act 2011, were:^[26]

• Roads and Maritime Services
• Sydney Ferries
• State Transit Authority
• RailCorp

As of March 2023^[update], the Department of Transport continues to exist as a government department and the ultimate parent entity of Transport for NSW and its entities.^[4]

Sydney Ferries

Transport for NSW contracted the Sydney ferry services to Harbour City Ferries in 2011, who started operations in 2012 and then Transdev Sydney Ferries in 2019. Transport for NSW continues to own the ferry fleet and the Balmain shipyard through its entity "Sydney Ferries".^[23] This entity is not to be confused with the branding of ferries in Sydney, which also uses the brand "Sydney Ferries".

Purchase of Sydney Light Rail and Sydney Monorail

Transport for NSW established the "MTS Holding Company" on 12 March 2012, and through the holding company, purchased Metro Transport Sydney, the owner of the Sydney Light Rail and the Sydney Monorail, on 23 March 2012 for $19.8 million.^[23] The company, light rail and the monorail also became under control of Transport for NSW and the government.^[27] The Sydney Monorail was closed down on 1 July 2013, and on the same day, the Metro Light Rail brand was phased out as part of a broader rebranding and reorganisation of public transport services in New South Wales.^[28] The light rail also became under direct ownership of Transport for NSW.^[29][30] The process of shutting down Metro Transport Sydney and transferring assets to Transport for NSW was completed in September 2014 with the deregistration of MTS Holding Company.^[31][32]

New railway agencies

The operations and maintenance functions of RailCorp were passed on to two newly formed government agencies, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains in July 2013, initially as subsidiaries of RailCorp. However, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains are not controlled entities of RailCorp, but are instead controlled by Transport for NSW.^[33] The suburban services of CityRail (also a part of RailCorp) were transferred to Sydney Trains, while CountryLink (also a part of RailCorp) and the intercity services of CityRail were passed on to NSW Trains, trading as NSW TrainLink. As a result, CityRail and CountryLink were abolished.

In July 2017, Sydney Trains and NSW Trains became independent and standalone agencies under Transport for NSW, and ceased to be subsidiaries of RailCorp.^[34][35] At the same time, the Residual Transport Corporation (RTC) was formed. RailCorp continued to exist as the railway asset owner until 1 July 2020, when it was converted into a state-owned corporation and renamed Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE).^{[36][37][35][38]} The RTC will then own assets that are not suitable for TAHE ownership.^[34]

In July 2018, the Sydney Metro Delivery Office, which was formed in 2011, was converted into a standalone Sydney Metro operating agency under Transport for NSW, similar to Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.^[39]

Amalgamation of Transport and Road agencies

After the 2019 state election, the government announced they would be merging Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) into Transport for NSW, to integrate roads and transport into a single agency.^[40] Legislation to dissolve RMS and transfer its functions to Transport for NSW was passed in the NSW Parliament and granted royal assent in November 2019.^[41][42] RMS was dissolved and merged into Transport for NSW on 1 December 2019.^[3]

Parklands

On 1 April 2022, the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust was transferred from the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) to Transport for NSW. The trust comprised Centennial Parklands (including Moore Park and Queens Park), Western Sydney Parklands, Parramatta Park, Callan Park and Fernhill Estate, and their individual park trusts.^[43][44] The Luna Park Reserve Trust, Place Management NSW and the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and Smart Places Strategy were also transferred from DPE to Transport for NSW.^[45]

Entities

The NSW Department of Transport comprises the following entities:^[53]

• Transport Service of New South Wales
• Transport for NSW and its divisions and entities

Transport Service of NSW is an agency created in November 2011, in charge of employing staff for Transport for NSW, which cannot directly employ staff, to undertake its functions. The Transport Service also directly employs staff for State Transit Authority (STA), as well as senior executives of Sydney Trains and NSW Trains.^[54]

As of 2025^[update], the entities of the Transport for NSW, as detailed in Transport Administration Act 1988, are:^[55]

• NSW Trains
• Sydney Ferries
• State Transit Authority (STA)
• Sydney Trains
• NSW Trains
• Residual Transport Corporation (RTC) – created in July 2017
• Sydney Metro – created in July 2018^[56]
• NSW Motorways

Out of these, STA, Sydney Trains, Sydney Metro, and NSW Trains are government transport agencies.^[49]

Departmental leadership

The following individuals have served as Secretary of Transport for NSW, or any precedent titles:

The Secretary of Transport for NSW is responsible to the Ministers listed below.

Ministers

The following ministers are responsible for administering the Transport cluster:^[68]

• Minister for Transport, currently The Hon John Graham MLC
• Minister for Roads and Minister for Regional Transport, currently The Hon Jenny Aitchison MP

Ultimately, the Ministers are answerable to the Parliament of New South Wales.

Transport NSW Info

Transport for NSW provides a trip planner and transport service information on its customer service website, transportnsw.info, and via its 24-hour information line, 131 500.^[69] These services, outsourced to Serco since July 2010, were previously known as the Transport Info Line or simply 131 500.^[74] A parallel Teletype service for hearing and speech impaired passengers is available on 1800 637 500.

Public transport projects

Roads

Corruption

In 2025, TfNSW was "embroiled" in its fourth corruption scandal in six years.^[107]

In mid 2025, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) begun an investigation into whether Transport for NSW staff had awarded contracts to, or favouring companies, in return for benefits, since 2012.^[108]

During an interview with A Current Affair in June 2025, a whisleblower claimed to have witnessed corruption worth more than $110 million inside Transport for NSW.^[109]

The Guardian reported that a probe in October 2025 was the fourth public inqury since 2019 into claims of corruption in procurement in Transport for NSW, which had a $23bn annual budget.^[110]

In October 2025, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that nearly half of staff were reluctant to speak up about tough issues, which may "range from alleged corruption or malpractice to workplace matters".^[107]

The Sydney Morning Herald described the $343 million kickback scandal as "engulfing" the government agency in January 2026.^[111]

Automotive traffic prioritisation

In February 2026 Rob Stokes (the former New South Wales Minister for Transport) stated the final design of the Sydney Fish Market shared bike path reflected "very ingrained views" inside government that backed road traffic over pedestrians and cyclists, which was reported by ABC News. He characterised the situation as "two clans" inside Transport for NSW, stating "There were those who were very people-focused, then there were those who were almost vehicle-focused" – and that decisions on cycle infrastructure around the market "had been made by the latter group".^[112] Rob Stokes described "very powerful vested interests" that prioritised large road and rail infrastructure over active transport infrastructure due to a revolving door between government and the private sector.^[112]

Bicycle NSW stated in 2023 there was a fundamental disconnect in Transport for NSW. They claimed some branches were "dedicated to achieving place outcomes and enabling more active transport", however "a powerful but fossilised group continues with the car-first mantra". Bicycle NSW described the agency publishing two plans for the same area (Pyrmont) "at cross purposes" at the same time.^[113][114] Gabriel Metcalf, the chief executive of the Committee for Sydney, said the proposed Pyrmont changes were made by an "old guard of traffic engineers" at Transport for NSW.^[115] Alex Greenwich described the car-first plan as "more 1950s road planning".^[116]

The "Impact of the Rozelle Interchange" Parliamentary Inquiry found "The evidence from cycling advocates was particularly damning, with the community promised improvements to cycling and pedestrian infrastructure that weren’t delivered."^[117] The Guardian stated in 2021 that "Above all, old habits die hard among officials in the roads bureaucracy."

In 2021, the City of Sydney executive manager of cycling strategy claimed "It doesn't matter what the minister or the executives at Transport for NSW are saying, you still have the people who’ve been doing this for 40 years who say, 'Ah, no mate, can’t possibly happen.'"^[118] In 2024 the Manager of Cycling Strategy claimed that active transport components of a motorway project were removed without the Minister being told, which exposed some Transport for NSW staff who "aren’t following what the policies say or what the Minister wants." They claimed although "There are a lot of good people in Transport for New South Wales and some have written good policies and strategies", the problem is "the people who have the power to veto any of our projects don’t sing by the same song sheet."^[119]

In 2025 the Committee for Sydney claimed Transport for NSW policies are "fantastic in intent", however they are "frequently ignored by bureaucrats in decision making and projects."^[120] The "Road User Space Allocation Policy Implementation Review Report" ('RUSAP Review') found "There is no clarity in accountability (or responsibility) for decision-making on road space allocation."^{[121]: 26 }

Rolling Stock Procurement

A report by the Audit Office of NSW found the government overspent $1 billion on the procurement of intercity trains in New South Wales because of "foreseeable changes". The report found TfNSW "did not effectively procure" the New South Wales D set (New Intercity Fleet) and New South Wales R set (Regional Rail Fleet).^{[127][128][129]}

Bus operation

A January 2025 report by the NSW Auditor-General Bola Oyetunji outlined the failures of Transport for NSW in management of multi-million-dollar bus contracts across metropolitan Sydney.^[130][131]

The report found operators are not consistently meeting their performance obligations for on-time running and cancelled trips.^[130]

A number of recommendations were made for improving bus operation were made in a May 2024 NSW Bus Industry Taskforce report.^[132]