The Rail Clearways Programme was conceived in 2004 with the aim of easing congestion of Sydney's suburban railway network, by reducing the amount of infrastructure shared by multiple services. The disparate projects at pinch points throughout the network were designed to increase passenger capacity and improve reliability. All projects were delivered by the Transport Construction Authority until it was subsumed in November 2011 by Transport for New South Wales. A new timetable was introduced in October 2013 that realised the benefit of many of the projects, and by January 2014—the programme was complete. Conception In the mid-2000s, the Government of New South Wales suffered heavy criticism for its perceived mishandling of the Sydney rail network, which had very poor on-time performance following the January 2003 Waterfall train disaster. The safety regime introduced after this crash required drivers to stick to the speed limit, which often caused delays due to the expectations of the timetable for higher speeds. A slower timetable was introduced in September 2005, which significantly improving on-time running of services. The Clearways Programme was intended as the next step in improving the network. Clearways routes The Clearways Programme aimed to divide fourteen rail lines into five independent "clearways", reducing the heavily interwoven nature of the Sydney system. This was intended to isolate incidents to one part of the network so other lines would still run as scheduled. The "clearways" feed the existing lines through the Sydney Central Business District. As the Carlingford Line does not run through the CBD, it was not included in a "clearway". Track upgrades to the Carlingford Line were still included in the programme, but this was cancelled in the November 2008 Mini-Budget. The Carlingford Line has since closed for Light Rail conversion. The five clearways routes are: Clearway 1: Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra This route did not change from the pre-Clearways Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line. The projects undertaken on this route have increased passenger capacity. Clearway 2: Bankstown After the Airport Line opened in May 2000, most trains from the East Hills line used the new line to approach the city, easing congestion on the older line between Sydenham and Erskineville, where tracks are shared with Bankstown Line services. Under the programme, new dedicated tracks for the Bankstown Line between Sydenham and Erskineville were to be constructed to the west of the existing four tracks to allow express East Hills Line trains