Roll-out of more mobile phone coverage on trains

Mobile phone coverage for the underground section of the line was fully available from last week, which marked the final stage of the roll-out of 18,000 metres of cable to cover the entire Sydney underground rail system.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the work meant the end of drop-outs for customers travelling between Erskineville and Bondi Junction.

"This is another example of how we are listening to customers and making a difference to their journey, with real-time apps, new Twitter handles and the completion of Opal on the Sydney Trains network," she said.

Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said the improvement brought the rail network into the 21st century.

"Many customers these days use mobile phones, tablets and laptops to stay in touch while they're travelling on public transport," he said.

Sydney Trains has launched line-specific Twitter handles to provide the latest travel information.

The Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line handle is @T4SydneyTrains.

■An Opal card for young train travellers has been launched ahead of the school holidays, which start Friday.

"The new green child/youth Opal card works in the same easy and convenient way as the adult Opal card, but it automatically calculates child fares at 50 per cent of an adult fare," Ms Berejiklian said.

"Children aged 4 to 16 and young people still at school can now carry their own Opal card and access the benefits including cheaper fares, daily travel caps and free travel anywhere on the public transport network after eight paid journeys a week.

"As well as half-price fares, children get their daily travel cap halved so they can travel on any mode of public transport with Opal for no more than $7.50 a day.

"A Sunday fare cap of $2.50, available to everyone with an Opal card, is very attractive for families to use public transport for a fun day out."

Are you finding mobile phone coverage continues right through the rail system? 

OPAL SAVINGS

Rail officials say Cronulla and Sutherland commuters are better off using the new Opal card than buying a quarterly ticket. They said there were errors in the calculations of a Cronulla commuter, reported a fortnight ago.

Transport for NSW did not challenge those figures initially when asked for comment, but said 90 percent of travellers would save money or pay no more using the Opal card.

However, a week later, after some Leader readers also questioned the figures, a Transport for NSW spokesman said an analysis had revealed mistakes.

The spokesman said an Opal card could save a Sutherland commuter between $104 and $168, compared with the annual costs of a quarterly ticket. The savings for a Cronulla commuter could range from $23 to $168.

Are you using an Opal card? Tell us what you think of it.