"Did you know," queries a CityRail poster, one morning at Roseville, waiting for a train that is probably not coming, "did you know that a sick passenger at Berowra can affect trains to Blacktown?"

"Outrageous!" the intended target (a commuter) is supposed to think. "Those two places are very far apart!"

A quick glance at the CityRail network map will reveal that the two stations are on a connected line, the yellow North Shore/Western line, in spite of their considerable distance. Still, the poster implies that, under the new Rail Clearways scheme, such an injustice will not occur.

One quick glance at the Rail Clearways map later, and an addendum should be added to the poster:
"Did you know that a sick passenger at Berowra can affect trains to Blacktown?
Well, under Rail Clearways, that will still happen! In fact, it will now also affect trains to Epping, Strathfield, and the new Epping-Chatswood line! Why? Because Rail Clearways plans to merge the Northern, North Shore and Western Lines (both branches) into one of the five 'clearways'. That's everything north (and just south) of the Parramatta River, and more than a third of CityRail's total metropolitan mileage!"

But I guess then the poster would be too big.