Workers taking the Joondalup and Mandurah lines of Transperth may have been late this morning due to the strike stage by train drivers.

Transperth train services were limited to two an hour after up to 40 drivers called in sick at short notice. Trains used to come in every four minutes.

The drivers seem to be among the employees who are not satisfied with the progress in the negotiations for the latest bargaining agreement. Transperth spokesman David Hynes denied the existence of a strike.

Hynes explained, “It's not a strike as such, all we can say is we've had a sudden surge, a big surge of unexplained and unexpected sickness amongst the drivers who have been calling in sick last night and early this morning.”

He warned train commuters about lengthy delays as the conditions could also affect commuter services in the evening. “We don't really expect the situation to relieve itself throughout the day which means it's not as much of a problem off peak because we don't need the same frequency levels, but coming into the afternoon and more particularly the football this evening are likely to be affected,” the spokesman said.

Transperth's Mandurah and Joondalup lines are the busiest lines in the city.